Documentary filmmakers meet a golden subject in the central highlands of Mexico.
© Carol Starr

Global Citizens Fly High, Too

Any day now, the eastern monarchs will leave their winter home in the Sierra Madre mountains of central Mexico and begin their epic journey across the US to Canada. Theirs is a know-no-boundaries flight pattern.

These pollinators are crucial to a continued food supply. Yet, like the honeybees, their numbers are dwindling: the 2014–15 estimate is about 56.5 million, a fraction of the 1 billion monarch butterflies that wintered in Mexico in 1996–97.

Who can help these fragile long-distance travelers? Global citizens, who work for monarch conservation with a know-no-boundaries fight pattern.

The fragile wings of an adult monarch propel it on a
migration of up to 2,800-miles (4,500 km).
© Carol Starr

The Mysterious Monarch

Scientists still don’t know how monarch butterflies know where to go, though the mystery of their winter home was solved in 1975 when the decades-long work of Fred Urquhart, a Canadian zoologist, came to fruition.

Urquhart began a tagging and tracking program that pointed to a diagonal flight pattern northeast to southwest across the US, but he lost track of the butterflies once they crossed the border into Mexico. Help came in the form of Ken Brugger (and his dog Kola), who traversed the Mexican countryside in a motor home.

Brugger looked for monarchs in areas where a tagged butterfly had been found, and he researched reports of sightings. Following the lead of Mexican woodcutters, who had spotted swarming butterflies, Brugger stepped into a forested highland valley and saw an awe-inspiring sight:

Millions of monarch butterflies hanging in clusters from the oyamel trees! 

The semi-dormant monarchs hang together to conserve heat during cold nights.
With thousands of butterflies in a cluster, some become so heavy that branches break.
© Carol Starr

Because they reached across borders, Brugger and Urquhart solved the mystery of the monarch’s winter home. For the full and fascinating story, see Found at Last, published in August 1976 by National Geographic.

The Monarch in Mexican Culture

Though the winter home had remained a mystery until 1975, people in the central highlands of Mexico had long experienced the fall arrival of the monarchs. Among the Purépecha, the indigenous word for the monarch means “harvest butterfly” because the butterflies reliably arrived at harvest time.

Coinciding with harvest time are celebrations on November 1 and 2, marking the Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), when Mexicans decorate the graves of their ancestors and honor them with feasts and offerings. The butterflies came to symbolize the souls of ancestors returning for a visit on these special days.

Fall colors brighten the graves in a Mexican cemetery for the
traditional celebration of Día de los muertos.
© Arturo Peña Romano Medina / iStock

Traditions are meant to continue, but in fall 2013, the butterflies did not show up on time, and that year the overwintering population dropped to a new low—about 33 million monarchs.

Challenges to the Fragile Flyers

Though weather and temperatures are factors, habitat loss is the most significant. In Mexico’s forest habitat:

• The human population also depends on the oyamel forests for survival, and this leads to unsustainable and illegal logging.
• Increased tourism to view the amazing colonies of overwintering butterflies has raised awareness of the monarchs’ plight, but it has also degraded the habitat.

The fluttering, flitting flecks of gold and orange and black attract
about 150,000 tourists per year.
© Carol Starr

In the flyway habitat through the US, the monarchs lay their eggs on the milkweed plant, vital food for the caterpillars, but milkweed is disappearing at a rapid pace:

• Since federal subsidies for biofuels have driven up the price of corn, farmers have converted open acreage, where native plants like milkweed grow, to fields and fields of corn.
• Use of herbicides, like Roundup, have wiped out much of the milkweed.
• When roads, parking lots, grass lawns, and ornamental landscapes go in, native plants go out. Food—milkweed for caterpillars and nectar plants for adult monarchs—is lost.

Solutions from Global Citizens

In 1986, Mexico established the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, now over 200 square miles, and in 2007 it outlawed logging. The area is now also a Unesco World Heritage site.

The entrance to El Rosario sanctuary leads to a steep climb, but the
kaleidoscope of butterflies you see at the top is worth it!
© Carol Starr

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Monarch Butterfly Fund (MBF) work with Mexico to seek solutions to habitat loss. Recognizing the economic dependence of the human population on the same land, these groups help villagers establish income-producing alternatives to logging, with jobs in mushroom cultivation and at nurseries that grow trees for reforestation.

The Monarch Sister Schools Program connects schools in the US and Mexico that work together to restore the monarchs’ habitats and engage in cultural exchange.

Monarch festivals at sister schools in the US and Mexico
invite kids to walk in a monarch’s shoes, er—wings!
© Carol Starr

The work of such organizations proceeds from a global mindset, but citizens who buy into “Think Global, Act Local” can make a difference, too.  Here are six ways:

#1.  Spread the word like the students from American University and Technológico de Monterrey (see first photo) whose documentary will give others an “Oh, I see” moment or two about the butterflies’ plight. It premiers at the Mexican Cultural Institute of Washington, D.C., on April 28.

#2.  Reestablish milkweed habitats like the senior living community  and the Soil Mates Garden Club in Lexington, KY, who planted milkweed and other natives in their courtyard to create Monarch Butterfly Waystation #8781. Visit Monarch Watch for seeds and all you need to create and certify a waystation.

#3.  Grow native nectar plants to feed adult monarchs on their migratory journey. Plantbutterflies.org offers plant charts and planting instructions.

Invite a monarch to lunch!
© Rafael Cespedes / iStock

#4.  Report sightings with the Journey North app to help scientists unravel more monarch mysteries and track numbers.

#5.  Advocate for “fueling stations” on public lands with help from Pollinator Partnership’s manuals on planting a utility right of way.

#6.  Reward the good actors by eating organic or by buying lumber that is Forest Stewardship Certified (FSC) and not taken through illegal logging.

Global citizens appreciate how what happens in one part of the world affects another. Like the monarch butterflies, they go beyond borders. May the populations of both increase!

⊂∫⊃

Experience the movement of the monarch butterfly and learn more about the mysteries surrounding them in this new video from WWF. Hear about the challenges ahead from Professor Chip Taylor, who also directs MonarchWatch.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Documentary filmmakers meet a golden subject in the central highlands of Mexico.
\u00a9 Carol Starr<\/p><\/div>\n

Global Citizens Fly High, Too<\/h2>\n

Any day now, the eastern monarchs will leave their winter home in the Sierra Madre mountains of central Mexico and begin their epic journey\u00a0across the US to Canada. Theirs is a know-no-boundaries flight pattern.<\/em><\/p>\n

These pollinators are crucial to a continued\u00a0food supply. Yet, like the honeybees, their numbers are dwindling: the 2014–15 estimate<\/a>\u00a0is\u00a0about 56.5 million,\u00a0a fraction of the 1 billion monarch butterflies that wintered in Mexico\u00a0in 1996–97.<\/p>\n

Who\u00a0can help these fragile long-distance travelers? Global citizens,\u00a0who work for monarch conservation with a\u00a0know-no-boundaries fight pattern.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The fragile wings of an adult monarch propel it on a
migration of up to 2,800-miles (4,500 km).
\u00a9 Carol Starr<\/p><\/div>\n

The Mysterious Monarch<\/h4>\n

Scientists still don’t know\u00a0how monarch\u00a0butterflies know where to go, though the mystery of their winter home was solved in\u00a01975 when the decades-long work of\u00a0Fred Urquhart, a Canadian zoologist,\u00a0came to fruition.<\/p>\n

Urquhart began a tagging and tracking program that pointed to a\u00a0diagonal flight pattern northeast to southwest across the US, but he lost track of the butterflies once they crossed\u00a0the border into Mexico.\u00a0Help came in the form of Ken Brugger (and his\u00a0dog Kola), who traversed\u00a0the Mexican countryside in a\u00a0motor home.<\/p>\n

Brugger\u00a0looked for monarchs in areas where a tagged butterfly\u00a0had been found, and he researched\u00a0reports of sightings. Following the lead of Mexican woodcutters, who had spotted\u00a0swarming butterflies, Brugger stepped into a forested highland valley and saw an awe-inspiring sight:<\/p>\n

Millions of\u00a0monarch\u00a0butterflies hanging in clusters\u00a0from the oyamel\u00a0trees!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The semi-dormant monarchs hang together to conserve heat during cold nights.
With thousands of butterflies in a cluster, some become so heavy that branches break.
\u00a9 Carol Starr<\/p><\/div>\n

Because they reached across borders, Brugger and Urquhart solved the mystery of the monarch’s winter home. For the full and fascinating story, see\u00a0Found at Last<\/a><\/em>, published in August 1976 by National Geographic.<\/p>\n

The Monarch\u00a0in Mexican Culture<\/h4>\n

Though the winter home had remained a mystery until 1975, people in the central highlands of Mexico had long experienced the fall arrival of the monarchs. Among the Pur\u00e9pecha, the indigenous word for the monarch means “harvest butterfly” because the butterflies reliably arrived at harvest time.<\/p>\n

Coinciding with harvest time are celebrations on November 1 and 2,\u00a0marking\u00a0the D\u00eda de los Muertos<\/em> (Day of the Dead), when Mexicans\u00a0decorate the graves of their ancestors and honor them with feasts and offerings. The butterflies came to symbolize the\u00a0souls of ancestors returning for a visit on these special days.<\/p>\n

Fall colors brighten the graves in a Mexican cemetery for the
traditional celebration of D\u00eda de los muertos.<\/em>
\u00a9 Arturo Pe\u00f1a Romano Medina \/ iStock<\/p><\/div>\n

Traditions are meant to continue, but in fall 2013, the butterflies did not show up on time, and that year the overwintering population dropped to a new low—about 33 million monarchs.<\/p>\n

Challenges to the Fragile Flyers<\/h4>\n

Though weather and temperatures are factors, habitat loss\u00a0is the most significant.\u00a0In Mexico’s forest habitat:<\/p>\n

\n
• The\u00a0human population also depends on the oyamel forests for\u00a0survival, and this leads to unsustainable and illegal logging.<\/li>\n
• Increased tourism to view the amazing colonies of overwintering butterflies has\u00a0raised awareness of the monarchs’ plight, but it has\u00a0also degraded the\u00a0habitat.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
  

  The fluttering, flitting flecks of gold and orange and black attract
  about 150,000 tourists per year.
  \u00a9 Carol Starr<\/p><\/div>\n

  In the flyway habitat\u00a0through\u00a0the US, the monarchs lay their eggs on the milkweed plant, vital food for\u00a0the caterpillars, but\u00a0milkweed\u00a0is disappearing at a rapid pace:<\/p>\n

  \n
  • Since federal subsidies for biofuels have driven up the price of corn, farmers have converted open acreage, where native plants like milkweed grow, to fields and fields of corn.<\/li>\n
  • Use of herbicides, like Roundup, have wiped out much of the milkweed.<\/li>\n
  • When roads, parking lots, grass lawns, and ornamental landscapes\u00a0go in,\u00a0native plants go\u00a0out. Food—milkweed for caterpillars and nectar plants for adult monarchs—is lost.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Solutions from Global Citizens<\/h4>\n

    In 1986, Mexico established the\u00a0Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, now\u00a0over 200 square miles, and in 2007 it outlawed logging. The area is now also a Unesco World Heritage<\/a> site.<\/p>\n

    

    The entrance to El Rosario sanctuary leads to a steep climb, but the
    kaleidoscope of butterflies you see at the top is worth it!
    \u00a9 Carol Starr<\/p><\/div>\n

    The World Wildlife Fund<\/a> (WWF) and the Monarch Butterfly Fund<\/a> (MBF) work with Mexico to seek solutions to habitat loss.\u00a0Recognizing the\u00a0economic dependence of the human population on the same land, these groups\u00a0help villagers establish\u00a0income-producing\u00a0alternatives to logging, with jobs in\u00a0mushroom cultivation and at\u00a0nurseries that grow trees for reforestation.<\/p>\n

    The Monarch Sister Schools Program<\/a> connects schools in the US and Mexico that work together to restore the monarchs’ habitats and engage in cultural exchange.<\/p>\n

    

    Monarch festivals at sister schools in the US and Mexico
    invite kids to walk in a monarch’s shoes, er—wings!
    \u00a9 Carol Starr<\/p><\/div>\n

    The\u00a0work of such\u00a0organizations proceeds from a global mindset, but citizens who\u00a0buy into “Think Global, Act Local” can make a difference, too. \u00a0Here are six\u00a0ways:<\/p>\n

    #1. \u00a0Spread the word\u00a0<\/strong>like the students from American University and Technol\u00f3gico de Monterrey (see first photo) whose documentary will give others an “Oh, I see” moment<\/strong> or two about the butterflies’ plight. It premiers at the Mexican Cultural Institute<\/a>\u00a0of Washington, D.C., on April 28.<\/p>\n

    #2. \u00a0Reestablish milkweed habitats\u00a0<\/strong>like the senior living community<\/a>\u00a0 and the Soil Mates Garden Club<\/a> in Lexington, KY, who planted milkweed and other natives\u00a0in their courtyard to create Monarch Butterfly Waystation #8781. Visit Monarch Watch<\/a> for seeds and all you need to create and certify a waystation.<\/p>\n

    #3. \u00a0Grow native\u00a0nectar plants <\/strong>to feed adult monarchs on their migratory journey. Plantbutterflies.org offers plant charts<\/a>\u00a0and planting instructions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    

    Invite a monarch to lunch!
    \u00a9 Rafael Cespedes \/ iStock<\/p><\/div>\n

    #4. \u00a0Report sightings\u00a0<\/strong>with the Journey North app<\/a>\u00a0to help scientists\u00a0unravel more monarch mysteries and track numbers.<\/p>\n

    #5.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Advocate for “fueling stations”\u00a0on public lands\u00a0<\/strong>with help\u00a0from Pollinator Partnership’s\u00a0manuals<\/a>\u00a0on planting a utility right of way.<\/p>\n

    #6. \u00a0Reward the good actors\u00a0<\/strong>by eating organic or\u00a0by buying lumber that is Forest Stewardship Certified (FSC) and not taken through\u00a0illegal logging.<\/p>\n

    Global citizens appreciate how\u00a0what happens in one part of the world affects another. Like the monarch butterflies, they go beyond\u00a0borders. May the populations of both increase!<\/p>\n

    \u2282\u222b\u2283<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Experience the movement of the monarch butterfly and learn more about the mysteries surrounding them in this new video<\/a><\/span> from WWF. Hear about the challenges<\/a><\/span> ahead from Professor Chip Taylor, who also directs MonarchWatch.<\/em><\/p>\n

    Comment<\/i><\/a>\u00a0on this post below, or inspire insight with your own\u00a0OIC Moment\u00a0<\/em>here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":null,"protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":22031,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[179,195,225],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-symbols-culture","category-mexico-mappoints","category-nature-travel"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21886"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21886\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40741,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21886\/revisions\/40741"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}