The number of monarch butterflies migrating through Cape May Point fell by more than half this year, according to a report by Philly.com. The decline is based on an annual hourly census study that reveals the decline in butterflies is more because of the weather than a population change.
Monarch Monitoring Project Director Mark Garland told The Press of Atlantic City:
We had strong easterly winds for much of September. That may have pushed butterflies farther west, rather than staying at the coast.
New Jersey Audubon’s Cape May Bird Observatory has been running the hourly census study for 25 years. The study requires counting monarch three times a day in five-mile routes around Cape May Point from September 14 through October 31.
Garland said that this year was the third-lowest hourly count the volunteers have made in over two decades. The hourly average of monarchs counter this year on the census route was 15, compared to the hourly average of 38 last year.
“This year never got real good, but it was never real bad either,” said Garland. He also mentioned that numbers were low but steady all season.
The highest count was about 360 an hour in 1999, and the lowest was 8.9 per hour in 2004, after a horrible winder killed off many butterflies.
Aside from counting monarchs, the volunteers and staff members of Cape May Bird Observatory study migration patterns and offer regular educational workshops to the public.
Most monarchs traveling from the East Coast spend the winter huddled together in trees on land protected as the 200-square-mile Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca (Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve), located 62 miles northwest of Mexico City.
Monarchs have the longest migration pattern of any butterfly species. These orange and black creatures are loved by many simply for their beauty. Thousands of people visit Cape May Point every autumn to see monarchs come through in large numbers, contributing to ecotourism in the area.
