(1) – a place of refuge and protection
(2) – a refuge for wildlife where predators are controlled and hunting is illegal.
(3) – a holy place
Pacific Grove Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary
(1) – All of the above
I kept putting off my visit. Why should I seek out a place that would only depress me? The last time I was there I only saw 3 or 4, and I had to use binoculars even to find the dismal few. I heard a rumor that they were coming back. But I also heard that last year none returned at all.
Since it was my last week in Pacific Grove, and the sanctuary was close by, I decided to bite the bullet and check it out. I’m glad I did.
I had only taken a few steps into the refuge when the passion and the drama took place right before my eyes, practically at my feet. They were fluttering by, flirting, chasing each other when things suddenly got serious. He slammed her to the ground. They wrestled. They danced. Then he brought their lovemaking to an entirely new level. He clasped her close. She went limp in his arms. He carried her high into the sky, up to the very tops of the trees.
When it comes to sexual endurance, the Monarch Butterflies put humans to shame. A pair of Monarchs will mate for up to 15 hours! They start mid-afternoon and finish shortly after sunrise. Afterwards, the female flies off to find a milkweed plant to lay her eggs on. In the two weeks or so that she has left to live, the female Monarch will repeat that act again and again.
In a week when the world situation is looking especially grim, it sure is nice to be able to share some good news. The Monarch Butterflies seem to be making a bit of a comeback.
I’ve written before about the demise of the Monarchs. The last time I visited the Pacific Grove Sanctuary, California’s Monarchs had plummeted to less than 1% of their former population. Numbers had dropped from 4.5 MILLION in the 1980s to 28,429 as of January 2019.
Last year there were no butterflies at all found in the Pacific Grove Sanctuary, and less than 2,000 counted in all of California.
This year there were about 14,000 in Pacific Grove alone and just over 247,000 in the total count for the California coast. Good news!
Perhaps some of our actions have helped the Monarch. Pacific Grove is a town that takes safeguarding the butterflies seriously. In this town, messing with a Monarch carries a $1,000 fine! The city has planted butterfly-friendly plants in its parks and along the Coastal Trail. Many residents have also planted butterfly-friendly plants, avoided RoundUp, and eaten more organic food since hearing about the Monarch’s plight.
Action is even beginning to take place on the federal level. There were two bills for butterfly conservation included in the $1 trillion infrastructure package that passed in November. These Acts, the Monarch and Pollinator Highway Act and the Monarch Action, Recovery, and Conservation of Habitat Act, will provide grants for replacing invasive species with native pollinator-friendly plants on highway roadsides and medians. They will also charge highway crews with being mindful about when they mow, avoiding mowing during key times in the Monarch migration.
The resurgence of butterfly numbers this year is wonderful news. But it’s not really a comeback, it’s more of a reprieve. We dodged a bullet this time, but 250,000 is a drop in the bucket compared to the 4.5 million found in earlier years. Monarch Butterflies still face the looming threats of pesticides, habitat destruction and climate change. They still need our help to grow back into a healthy, thriving population.
Help the Monarchs. Eat organic. Don’t use pesticides. Please do what you can to provide sanctuary, and help the Monarch butterflies survive.
Thank you, Karina of Murtagh’s Meadow, for providing this week’s Lens-Artists Photography Challenge, A Special Place.
Oh this is a special place indeed! So many Monarchs in one place 😀 It’s good to read about the efforts made to help them, I hope they succeed in helping them to thrive again.
Your info about them taking 15 hours to mate made me smile, and also reminded me of something I was told by a guide in Costa Rica last month, that the fastest a sloth ever gets is while mating, which they accomplish in just five seconds. Who would have guessed that between a flighty butterfly and an almost soporific sloth, it would be the latter that does it in just five seconds while the butterfly takes 15 hours!
So good to hear good news!
BEAUTIFUL! Save the butterflies!!!
Amazing images. I’m glad you went too.
Such an iconic butterfly and how amazing it must be to see them for real. Thank you for sharing.
Dianne, your images this week are incredible. I visited the sanctuary several years ago and was amazed at the number of these beautiful creatures. Here on Kiawah we are a stopover point in their journey and many of our residents plant their favorite milkweed as does one of our golf courses. I’m so glad to hear their numbers are climbing slightly higher as we’ve noticed far fewer of them in recent years vs years past. A perfect choice for the challenge.
So glad you made it! Great photos and information.