02:18Mexico: Millions of Monarch butterflies crowd Ocampo's wildlife sanctuary
Visitors flocked to the Sanctuary of the Rosary in Ocampo, Michoacan state on Monday, to see Monarch butterflies in their natural environment, which have greatly increased in number due to favourable weather conditions, after decades of decreasing population.
More than 100 million of the black and orange lepidoptera are expected to pass through the country on their migration to the USA and Canada, three times the number of previous years. Nevertheless, it is still quite far from the 1,000s of millions of the Butterflies that were registered in previous decades.
The reasons for this decrease in the Monarch butterfly population are many, including prolonged droughts, wildfires and severe frosts, but also "because in the United States they sprayed much of the plants called Asclepius or milkweed, then the population of butterflies decreased because there was no place where they could put their eggs, therefore the numbers fell," as Austreberto Garcia Cruz, a guide of the Monarch butterfly sanctuary, said.
The Monarch butterfly is a milkweed butterfly, whose wings feature an easily recognisable black, orange, and white pattern, with a wingspan of 8.9-10.2 cm (3½-4 in). The eastern North American Monarch population is notable for its annual southward late-summer/autumn migration from the United States and southern Canada to Mexico. During the fall migration, monarchs cover thousands of miles, with a corresponding multi-generational return back north.
02:18Visitors flocked to the Sanctuary of the Rosary in Ocampo, Michoacan state on Monday, to see Monarch butterflies in their natural environment, which have greatly increased in number due to favourable weather conditions, after decades of decreasing population.
More than 100 million of the black and orange lepidoptera are expected to pass through the country on their migration to the USA and Canada, three times the number of previous years. Nevertheless, it is still quite far from the 1,000s of millions of the Butterflies that were registered in previous decades.
The reasons for this decrease in the Monarch butterfly population are many, including prolonged droughts, wildfires and severe frosts, but also "because in the United States they sprayed much of the plants called Asclepius or milkweed, then the population of butterflies decreased because there was no place where they could put their eggs, therefore the numbers fell," as Austreberto Garcia Cruz, a guide of the Monarch butterfly sanctuary, said.
The Monarch butterfly is a milkweed butterfly, whose wings feature an easily recognisable black, orange, and white pattern, with a wingspan of 8.9-10.2 cm (3½-4 in). The eastern North American Monarch population is notable for its annual southward late-summer/autumn migration from the United States and southern Canada to Mexico. During the fall migration, monarchs cover thousands of miles, with a corresponding multi-generational return back north.