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The number of monarch butterflies at their Mexico wintering sites has plummeted this year
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FILE - Monarch butterflies land on branches at Monarch Grove Sanctuary in Pacific Grove, Calif., on Nov. 10, 2021. The number of western monarch butterflies overwintering in California dropped 30% from the previous year likely due to a wet winter. Researchers with the Xerces Society, a nonprofit environmental organization, said Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024, that volunteers who visited sites in California and Arizona around Thanksgiving tallied more than 230,000 butterflies, compared to 330,00 in 2022. - photo by AP Photo/Nic Coury, File
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The number of monarch butterflies at their wintering areas in Mexico dropped by 59% this year to the second lowest level since record keeping began, experts said Wednesday, blaming heat, drought and loss of habitat. The butterflies’ migration from Canada and the United States to Mexico and back again is considered a marvel of nature. No single butterfly lives to complete the entire journey.