Extremely low numbers of Western Monarch Butterflies reported this year at Ellwood Mesa
GOLETA, Calif. – The iconic Western Monarch Butterfly historically migrated in the tens of thousands to the Goleta area, but this year, the number of arriving butterflies is dramatically low.
Each October, monarch butterflies have historically arrived in the Central Coast region to find ideal habitats to ride out the winter explained George Thomson, the Parks and Open Space Manager for the City of Goleta.
Preferred habitats are often close trees that protect the winged-insects from winter winds and the groves that provide the most protection are usually full of densely-packed clusters, such as the Ellwood Mesa Open Space, by mid-December.
Your News Channel's Dave Alley covered the low numbers at Pismo State Beach this year Thursday as well.
The graph below, courtesy of the City of Goleta, shows the number of Western Monarch Butterflies that visited ideal wintering sites in the Goleta area.
This year's count is shown in the graph below.
"Abysmal" is how George Thomson detailed the count this year and he noted that low population counts are not unique to the Central Coast.
According to the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, there are notably low counts across the wintering habitat for the Western Monarch Butterfly that stretches from northern Baja California and up to Marin and Sonoma counties.
While insect populations fluctuate based on a variety of factors, the number of Western Monarch Butterflies has decreased by 95 percent since the 1980s and experts believe that may be due to increased heat as well as wildfires and severe storms in the migratory insects preferred wintering spots detailed the City of Goleta.
Monarch butterflies are included on the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Terrestrial and Vernal Pool Invertebrates of Conservation Priority list and highlighted as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in the state's Wildlife Action Plan.
At the federal level, monarchs were petitioned to be listed under the Endangered Species Act in 2014 and in December of 2020, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that inclusion was warranted but precluded by other listing actions.
The latest deadline to provide national protection for the iconic insect is pending a decision in December of this year.
So what can the community do to help?
Thomson suggests local gardeners can plant native plants, reduce their use of pesticides, and join the City of Goleta every Saturday at the Ellwood Mesa Open Space to plant trees.
