Population of monarchs overwintering in California at lowest level ever recorded
Emma Pelton, Endangered Species Conservation Biologist; [email protected], (971) 533-7245
Sarina Jepsen, Endangered Species Program Director; [email protected], (971) 244-3727
PORTLAND, Ore.; Thursday, 1/17/19—The population of monarch butterflies overwintering in California has fallen to the lowest level ever recorded. Surveys done by volunteers with the Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count found only 28,429 butterflies, an 85.2% fall from the previous year—and a 99.4% decline from the number of monarchs in the state in the 1980s. The results of the count were released Thursday by the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, along with a Western Monarch Call to Action.