The Weather Doesn’t Stop Monarch Butterflies from Thriving!

A study conducted over the span of almost three decades shows that the population of monarch butterflies in the United States is not only doing well but, contrary to some other insects, the species’ population is on the rise despite agricultural intensification and changes in temperature and precipitations.

“The North American Butterfly Association (NABA) counts from the entire breeding population suggests that monarchs may have some ability to rebound from winter declines during the breeding season, perhaps providing some counteracting upward movement of monarch numbers despite declines in the winter,” state the authors of the study.

Between 1993 and 2018, NABA observed 135,705 monarchs at 403 sites across the United States and Canada, over time periods of 10 to 26 years. In fact, it has been noted that the increase in monarch butterfly population is 1.36% per year. Increases were mainly pointed out in the Northwest, Upper Midwest, and Southeast parts of the United States.