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Wildlife Featured in this article
- Monarch butterfly
Monarchs adapt their breeding time
The butterflies are successfully breeding in the winter
Monarch butterflies may be adapting to climate change by breeding in the winter—a time when they traditionally haven’t. A new study published in the Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society reveals that monarchs (Danaus Plexippus) that bred at an urban site in San Francisco during the winter of 2021-2022 had a 50% survival rate. This change is happening at a time when the butterflies are seeing massive population fluctuations in the West. “We are witnessing monarchs evolving and adapting to new environmental circumstances,” said David James, an associate professor of entomology at Washington State University, in a press release. “We can learn a lot from what they are doing, and this will inform our strategies for providing the resources they need to be successful.”
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Header Image: The rise of winter-breeding monarchs signals a potential adaptation to warmer winters and offers an alternative to the traditional overwintering of nonbreeding butterflies. Credit: David James/WSU
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