Hello Western Monarch Thanksgiving and New Year’s Count Community! Thank you for being a part of this incredibly important community science program! This remarkable volunteer effort collects invaluable data that gives researchers and conservationists a reliable picture of the western …
Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count: Nov. 13 – Dec. 5, 2021 Read More »
Many insect pollinators are declining in California, including bees and butterflies. The population of western monarch butterflies has declined 99.9% since the 1980s, due to a variety of reasons, including habitat loss and degradation, pesticides, and climate change. One important …
A new study “Fewer butterflies seen by community scientists across the warming and drying landscapes of the American West” published in the Journal Science last week paints a dim picture for western butterfly species. The study found that butterfly abundance …
Western butterflies declining as climate gets warmer, drier Read More »
By Stephanie McKnight on 1 March 2021 Many people have been seeing and reporting fairly large numbers of monarchs, both adults and caterpillars, all winter long in gardens on the California Coast this year. Since there haven’t been any formal …
By Stephanie McKnight on 1 March 2021 Western Migratory Monarch Population Needs Extraordinary Level of Conservation to Persist. Since 1997 volunteers have conducted counts of overwintering monarchs for the Xerces Society’s annual Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count. As a way to …
The Xerces Society Blog: Monarch Numbers from Mexico Point to Declining Population By Stephanie McKnight on 26 February 2021 The World Wildlife Fund–Mexico announced yesterday results of the annual survey of monarch butterflies overwintering in central Mexico. The butterflies occupied …
Monarch Numbers from Mexico Point to Declining Population Read More »
Scientists look to public for clues to recover monarch butterflies February 11, 2021 Reposted from Official Press Release from Washington State University. Researchers created the “Western Monarch Mystery Challenge” to help inform conservation efforts for the plummeting western monarch population. …
Western Monarch Mystery Challenge: Feb. 14 – Apr. 22 Read More »
By Paul G. Johnson (guest author) on 28 January 2021 On November 18, 2020, we lost a great friend of butterflies and a wonderful human being, with the passing of Bill Shepard. I met Bill 18 years ago when I …
Remembering Bill Shepard, a Great Friend of Butterflies Read More »
Population that winters along the California coast hit a low of less than 2,000 butterflies—a 99.9% decline since the 1980s. We must take action now to save the western monarch migration. Expert Contacts Sarina Jepsen, Director of Endangered Species (971) …
By Emma Pelton & Stephanie McKnight on 19 January 2021 During the 24th Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count, nearly 100 volunteers donned their masks and practiced social distancing to carefully survey groves of trees on the California and Northern Baja coast …
The Western Monarch Count is a community science program through the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. You can read more about it here.
Butterfly wing image by and (c)2008 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man), licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License 1.2
This website contains links to other independent third party websites. These third party websites are not under our control, and we are not responsible for and do not necessarily endorse their content. We are not liable for any offensive, inaccurate, or objectionable content contained on these third party sites.
Monarch overwintering site location data provided by this website is for basic navigational purposes only and is not intended to be relied upon in situations where precise location information is needed or where erroneous, inaccurate or incomplete location data may lead to personal injury, death, or property or environmental damage. Neither we, nor any of our content providers, guarantee the availability, accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of location data displayed by our website.
Participants of this community science project assume all responsibility for following the rules and regulations of the areas in which they are surveying, including all notices of private property and no trespassing warnings. The Xerces Society encourages all participants to follow basic common sense and safety precautions when accessing and monitoring overwintering sites. Participants are ultimately responsible for their own safety and well-being.
