Get the latest tech news

Climate Change Is Destroying Monarch Butterflies’ Winter Habitat

During their passage through Mexico, monarch butterflies depend on the shelter of endangered trees—so this scientist is leading a huge experiment to build them a new winter habitat.

After flying for more than 4,000 kilometers, the butterflies land in the oyamel fir trees of the Ejido el Rosario region, where for weeks they congregate, protecting themselves from the wind and the cold nights. “Due to rising temperatures, we are observing a process of forest decline,” says Sáenz Romero, who is leading an initiative to establish new overwintering sites for the monarchs, which are on the red list of threatened species. Faced with this dramatic situation, Sáenz Romero’s team has been working with the indigenous community of Calimaya in the neighboring State of Mexico—the federal region that contains Mexico City—to create new forests outside their current geographic area.

Get the Android app