Climate change is destroying the winter habitat of Monarch Butterflies

every year at In early November, the city of Michoacán, Mexico hosts one of the world’s most impressive natural spectacles. Hundreds of millions of migrating monarch butterflies take up residence in the forested masses of the country’s Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, approximately 100 kilometers west of Mexico City In southern Canada, they hibernate here in winter before spring mating.

After flying more than 4,000 kilometers, the butterflies land on the oyamel firs of the Ejido el Rosario region, where they gather for weeks to protect themselves from the wind and cold nights. Without these trees, the butterflies would not be able to survive their grueling journey.

The Oyamel fir grows in a very small climatic area, which is humid but cold. “Its distribution is very limited to the highest mountains in central Mexico,” says Cuahtemoc Saenz Romero, a professor at the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo recent study which expects that as a result of climate change, this forest will gradually deteriorate until it disappears, endangering the butterflies.

For resting monarchs, the oyamel canopy acts as a buffer for local temperature and humidity, Saenz Romero explains. It is protection against high temperature. At night it is the opposite, resulting in a 5 degree Celsius warmer environment. The density of the canopy also protects against winter rain. “If the temperature drops below zero and the butterflies get their wings wet, they can freeze. That’s why these trees represent such a special habitat,” says Saenz Romero.

After waking up from hibernation in central Mexico and mating, the insects fly north to Texas, USA, where they lay their eggs. – he explains.

Only Oyamel firs provide this delicate balance for their survival. However, some models show that the favorable climate in this area will disappear by 2090. “Because of the increase in temperature, we are seeing a process of forest decline,” says Saenz Romero, who leads the initiative to create new wintering grounds for the monarchs. which are located red list endangered species.