Monarch Butterflies Are On The Move

monarch-butterfly-safe
monarch-butterfly-safe

A much loved butterfly is on the move to a warmer climate for the winter, just like snowbirds. Tens of thousands of Monarch butterflies are flying off to Mexico over the next couple of months to winter there. Michigan State University post doctoral researcher Erin Zylstra told Michigan News Network more.

“Monarchs, they can’t survive the winter up in the Midwest,” Zylstra said. “They need more moderate conditions, and so they end up going to central Mexico and they spend the winter…They shut down their systems quite a bit so they’re in a slowed down state, and they’re in these forests in central Mexico.”

Zylstra says the number of monarchs has declined since the mid-90s because of climate change. She says we can help by planting more milkweed, the only plant they lay eggs on and the only plant caterpillars eat.