Coming soon? Grupo Mexico copper mine in heart of Monarch butterfly roosting...
While the U.S. channels millions of dollars into research, citizen science outreach, and public education on the importance of the Monarch butterfly migration, Mexico is considering the approval of...
View ArticleTexas brakes for butterflies: “Monarch Highway” comes to IH35
A year after President Obama announced a National Pollinator Strategy with plans to create a pollinator corridor along Interstate Highway 35 (IH35), the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)...
View ArticleMexico, Canada and Obama recommit to conserving Monarch butterfly migration
President Barack Obama, President Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada met in Ottawa, Canada, on Wednesday and reconfirmed their commitment to preserve the Monarch...
View ArticleUS Fish and Wildlife Service gets three more years to evaluate Monarch...
A Washington DC Court yesterday awarded the US Fish and Wildlife Service three more years to evaluate whether or not the Monarch butterfly should be listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species...
View ArticleTexas Comptroller awards $500K in Monarch research grants to Texas universities
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced Tuesday that Texas A&M University and Sam Houston State University will share about $500,000 in research funding to study the Monarch butterfly. That brings...
View ArticleSave the date: Monarch Butterfly and Pollinator Festival in San Antonio Oct....
Mark your calendars, butterfly and pollinator fans. San Antonio’s Monarch Butterfly and Pollinator Festival @Pearl will take place October 21 – 22 this fall during peak Monarch butterfly migration...
View ArticleMonarch butterflies heading our way, but not as many as we hoped
Monarch butterflies are heading our way, but their numbers are likely to be down this year. Climate change–combined with habitat loss and other threats–dealt a heavy blow to the population, which...
View ArticleLlano River: Late season nectar plants await Monarch butterfly migration
Conditions were ideal along the Llano River last weekend with sprays of late season nectar plants poised for the arrival of Monarch butterflies in what is predicted to be a down year for their...
View ArticleMcAllen, Texas becomes second NWF Monarch Butterfly Champion City
There’s a new Monarch Butterfly Champion City in the Lone Star State: McAllen. Tattered Monarch on Purple Mistflower at the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas. Photo courtesy of National...
View ArticleButterfly bonanza: Monarch tagged in Oklahoma netted on Llano River in Texas
A male Monarch butterfly, tag number WMX658, paused Saturday morning October 1 around 11 AM on a fresh Frostweed bloom along the Llano River. Netted and retrieved, the faded Monarch was photographed,...
View ArticleCan’t get outside? Here’s how to track the Monarch butterfly migration from...
Monarch butterflies are on the move in what is likely to be a late migration. Here in San Antonio, we’re entering peak migration time, as deemed by the calendar put together by Monarch Watch, the...
View ArticleMonarch migration update: winds from south, hot temps stall butterflies on...
Hundreds of Monarch butterflies paused in the Texas Hill Country this weekend as winds from the south and temperatures in the 90s prevented the migrating insects from continuing their journey south....
View ArticleSan Antonio’s first Monarch Butterfly and Pollinator Festival a roaring success
Over three days and three events October 20 – 22, thousands of people came together online and in person to celebrate the Monarch butterfly migration during peak Monarch migration to make San Antonio’s...
View ArticleWhat will happen to pollinator advocacy under President Trump?
Monarch butterflies undertook an unusual migration this 2016 season as a series of small pulses and late season flyers moved through the Texas Funnel en route to Mexico, replacing the concentrated...
View ArticleClimate Change and the Monarch Butterfly Migration Symposium tackles tough...
“Each one is a hole in the sky through which we can get a glimpse of heaven”. –Mississippi wildlife artist Walter Anderson That was how moderator Dan Goodgame launched our Climate Change and the...
View ArticleQ & A: Dr. Anurag Agrawal challenges Monarch butterfly conservation...
Dr. Anurag Agrawal has a bit of a contrarian streak. Named the recipient of the prestigious MacArthur Ecology Award earlier this year, he was lauded for “opening up new research themes” and continuing...
View ArticleFrostweed earns its name with intriguing ice sculptures upon first frost
The first frost of the season hit our Llano River ranch last weekend, a month later than the average November 15 first frost date prescribed by gardening buffs, farmer’s almanacs and the National...
View ArticleMonarch Champions: San Antonio elected officials submit to butterfly’s charms
It doesn’t get much better for a butterfly evangelist than to have hometown elected officials raise Monarch caterpillars at City Hall. That’s what happened less than a year after the National Wildlife...
View ArticleMonarch butterfly migrating population drops 27%, freak sleet storm to blame
Officials in Mexico announced Wednesday that the population of migrating Monarch butterflies dropped 27% this season, marking a setback in two consecutive years of growth from the historic low of 2014....
View ArticleMonarch butterfly Valentine: how do we love thee? Let us count the ways…
My love affair with Monarch butterflies began in earnest in 2005. My friend Jenny Singleton had introduced us the year before. But the following October, on a warm Saturday afternoon, I stepped from my...
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