It had been four years since my last visit to the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in south central Mexico. I’ve certainly been thinking quite a bit about the Monarch in my time with Milkweed Matters, but I hadn’t realized just how much I needed a rejuvenation, a re-connection, a reminder of why I’m doing what I’m doing these days. Really, it’s all for these little bugs, to the amazement of my mother who swears that “bug-friendly” is the last thing she’d call me as a child. Somehow, I’ve developed an intense appreciation for pollinators, arachnids, and other invertebrates. I didn’t quite know as a child what an important role bugs play in our survival as a species. I do now, though, and am dedicating my life – professional and personal, as it were – to making sure these tiny friends have places to call home.
This year’s visit was more spectacular than anything I read beforehand could have prepared me for. The population estimates had just been released and Monarchs in these conifer forests were occupying 6.05 hectares, nearly six times the area they occupied when I visited in December 2014. The reasons for this increase are likely due to good weather, although there certainly has been a huge uptick in the amount of effort to establish breeding and feeding habitat throughout their 2000-mile migration route. Conservation efforts require an “all-hands-on-deck” strategy, so pollinator gardens, no-mow yards, and increased roadside habitat are each making a difference.
I stayed again this year at J.M.’s Butterfly B&B in Macheros, Mexico, a very small village at the bottom of the Cerro Pelón Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary. This particular sanctuary is a very special place. Joel Moreno, his wife Ellen Sharp, and their entire family work somehow in the Monarch tourism industry. Several of the siblings are guides, some are forest rangers, some cook meals for the guests, others translate for visitors at community events. Joel’s father was a forest ranger in the 60s, before the location of the overwintering sites was even recorded. The challenge then, which remains today, was to prevent illegal logging that encroaches on the fir, cedar, and pine trees the Monarchs need for shelter. This is the biggest threat to the overwintering sites, and locals such as Joel and Ellen are doing everything in their power to protect these trees. Even setting up a non-profit called Butterflies and Their People to raise funds to hire more forest rangers. Since they doubled the number of rangers in 2018, illegal logging has decreased on the mountain by 87%.
It was a short trip, but on the second and final day, it was sunny and warm. The butterflies were active. It took nearly an hour to hike up the mountain, but once we reached an open trail, we saw that the workout was worth it. Streaming down the mountain were millions upon millions of Monarchs, heading to the valley in search of water. Many ran into my hat and shoulders and knees as I stood in amazement. Everyone was in awe and silent, which meant it was easy to hear millions of wings fluttering in the cool breeze. I wanted to close to my eyes so that I could focus on the sound, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of the mesmerizing soaring right above my head. So, I laid down on the ground, stared straight up into the bluest blue, and found myself lost in the magic of these creatures.
Macheros, Mexico, Mexico
Cerro Pelon Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary
February 2019
Kelly Green Guilbeau 