"Scientists consider the less than 2,000 monarchs recorded during California's 2020 winter as the all-time low - and a far cry from the millions of monarchs observed in the 1980s. The years of 2021, 2022 and 2023 brought a welcome surprise when the winter numbers leapt up to more than 200,000 butterflies. Last year, however, was another downer as numbers plunged again to less than 10,000."
"On Dec. 3, Xerces estimated some 8,000 monarchs so far - a total that could clock this winter's numbers as the second or third lowest on record. Last year, 9,119 monarch butterflies during the mid-season ultimately led to the second-lowest winter numbers recorded since 1997. Final numbers for this season are slated to come out in late January."
""I think I can tell you that this is going to be a very similar count to last year," Black said. "It'll be a little under, a little over, but we haven't seen any huge resurgence in monarchs over the last month. It's not like all of sudden we're going up to 100,000 monarchs, though that would be nice.""
Winter counts of western monarch butterflies along the California coast are near record lows. Xerces Society's preliminary mid-season tally estimated about 8,000 monarchs as of Dec. 3, which could make this the second- or third-lowest winter count on record. Last winter's final count was under 10,000 after a mid-season tally of 9,119. Scientists note the 2020 winter low was under 2,000 and contrasts sharply with the millions seen in the 1980s. Brief rebounds over 2021-2023 exceeded 200,000 but recent years show steep declines, leaving the species at high risk of extinction.
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