Shipped monarchs may give populations a boost

A butterfly nonprofit is paying to ship 12 monarch butterflies from Wisconsin to Texas, where they hope the insects will migrate to Mexico. Friends of Butterfly Gardens Inc. is funding the FedEx shipment of 12 monarchs (Danaus plexippus) that would otherwise face freezing temperatures on their migration, making it difficult for them to survive along the way. That’s because that last generation of butterflies in Wisconsin stayed longer than they usually would, likely having to do with climate change. When the butterflies reach a home in Mission, Texas, they will be tagged and released about 20 miles from the Mexico border. The hope is that these butterflies will help bolster a declining monarch population.

Read more in USA Today.