The trip to Canada of the Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) begins this week, but with a reduction of 26 percent due to the change in land use, the reduction of milkweed in their breeding places in the United States and Canada, illegal logging in Mexico and climate change.
Two new studies, carried out by the WWF – Telmex Telcel Foundation Alliance, in collaboration with the National Commission for Protected Natural Areas (CONANP) and the UNAM, confirm that the presence of the Monarch butterfly in Mexican hibernating forests was reduced by 26 percent last December, occupying only 2.10 hectares (ha) compared to the 2.83 reported in the same month, but in 2019.
Jorge Rickards, general director of WWF Mexico, assures that, although this butterfly is not in danger of extinction, its migratory process is at risk, so it is urgent that the governments, the scientific community and the civil society of Mexico, States The United States and Canada strengthen their tasks.
Years ago, in various regions they were welcomed with offerings of wax and copal; However, illegal logging has impacted the presence and reproduction of the Quetzalpapálotl, as the Aztecs called them, who associated them with Xochiquétzal, the goddess of beauty and flowers.
In pre-Hispanic times these beautiful insects were also seen as “sacred animals” and the worship that was rendered to them was always important. It is for this reason that it was customary to leave offerings of wax and copal at their disposal. Another version of this legend indicates that the dead travel on the wings of butterflies and that is how they reach the altars.
The migration
At the end of March, the Monarchs begin their return home. The journey north, made by several generations of butterflies, takes four to five months for a journey of 3,500 kilometres. The duration of the return trip is longer because the generation born in the North lives longer and can complete the outward journey in less time.
The emblematic butterflies of North America began to leave sites such as the Santuario el Rosario, in the municipality of Ocampo in the state of Michoacán, in southwestern Mexico, after an annual migration that usually begins in November and ends in early April.
Its migration is a phenomenon in which its conservation involves a trilateral effort between Mexico, the United States and Canada, which is 45 years old, experts in the field agreed.
Rendón warned that this phenomenon represents a great challenge for humanity. “To the extent that we safeguard the migratory phenomenon of the Monarchs, it is very likely that we will show proof that we will be able to save nature for all humans.”
The route of the Monarchs includes hibernation sites to the United States and Canada, in which three to four generations of butterflies participate. In the fall migration, when they arrive in Mexico, only one generation comes to the nation.
Two populations of butterflies migrate along the route: the eastern one, the best known and trinational in distribution, and the western one, which goes from the United States to Mexico.
Butterflies roam the Sierra Madre Occidental with sites in Mexico where they also hibernate.
Illegal logging
The WWF also documented a four-fold annual increase in the degraded area of Mexican forests that serve as a reserve for the insect. While in March 2019 it recorded 12.35 acres (4.99 hectares) degraded, the number grew to 50.06 acres (20.26 hectares) in 2020.
“According to the analysis, illegal logging was the main cause, accounting for 33.03 acres (13.36 hectares) of deforestation,” said WWF.
The degradation of the monarch butterfly area sparked initiatives such as “Atlas por el campo”, a project launched this week with support from the German Cooperation Agency (GIZ). The program warned of the need to protect these insects, as well as bees and hummingbirds, by stating that in Mexico 85% of crops depend on pollination.
