Monarch butterfly populations are on the upswing. But, faced with climate change, pine bark beetles, and even avocado-farming cartels, can it last? For The Atlantic, Vann R. Newkirk II follows Cinderella, Eric, and Carle, three butterflies named by his young daughter, as they leave their wintering ground in Mexico to migrate north to lay eggs in order to complete their “biological mission.”
Cinderella, Eric, and Carle had all been tagged in Sierra Chincua, which meant that I could deduce certain facts about their lives. They were already bona fide world-class wanderers, having flown there all the way from Canada in the fall, a three-month trip. Along the way, they’d dodged birds and windmills and cars, eventually reaching the same patch of forest—perhaps even the same trees—that their great-grandparents had roosted in. For much of the winter, they had not eaten and had barely moved, jamming themselves so tightly against their fellow travelers that from a distance they looked like scales armoring the sides of the trees. Now they’d awakened, stretching their wings and warming up.
More picks about conservation
The Man with a Plan to Save Maine’s Moose Population
“Lee Kantar, the only dedicated state moose biologist in the country, is charged with everything from managing the hunt to countering the deadly onslaught of winter ticks.”
Horseshoe Crab Diary
“They inspired the same fear and delight that walking in the woods once did when I was a child: the fear and delight of discovery.”
Saving the Monarch Butterfly Migration
“Their awe-inspiring migration is a cycle that repeats each year, spanning three countries.”
