Monarch butterfly sightings an encouraging sign to naturalist

'A lack of milkweed seems to have been a factor in reducing the numbers as well. A lot of strikes against him."- Jim Wilson, naturalist

Things may be looking up for a popular migratory species that's been declining over the years.

Birder Jim Wilson of Quispamsis, outside Saint John, says he's been getting reports of monarch butterfly sightings in the area over the past few weeks.

In just one day, the naturalist himself saw 10 monarch butterflies while driving on back-country roads.

• Fewer monarch butterflies made it to Mexico again this year 
• Thousands of monarch butterflies could be stranded in Canada by cold weather 
• Monarch sightings at Point Pelee should take off as temperature tumbles

"We keep hearing a lot of doom and gloom about monarchs, and we certainly still have to be concerned about them because one here doesn't necessarily turn everything around," he said.

Wilson said he's also getting reports of eggs and caterpillars on milkweed plants all over the province.

The number of monarch butterflies wintering in Mexican forests declined for a second consecutive year.

Alejandro Del Mazo, Mexico's commissioner for protected areas, said the monarchs clumped in trees covering about 2.48 hectares (about six acres) this winter. That was down about 14.7 per cent from the 2.91 hectares (about seven acres) the previous winter.

The monarch butterflies' migration is measured by the area they cover in pine and fir forests west of Mexico City. Millions of the butterflies make the 5,500-kilometre migration from the United States and Canada each year.

But the butterflies aren't out of the woods yet. 

Monarch butterfly populations have seen a 90 per cent drop over a few decades.

Need milkweed to survive

Wilson said there are a number of reasons why the monarch butterfly has been declining, including major die-off during storms, cold weather, the lack of milkweed plants between Mexico and Canada because of urban sprawl, the use of herbicides and roadside cutting.

Migratory monarch butterflies use milkweed for both breeding and food but in the past decade, the plants have been threatened by pesticide use.

In the wild, Wilson said, it's estimated an egg laid on the underside of the leaf of a milkweed only has about a 20 per cent chance of living long enough to develop into an adult butterfly.

"A lack of milkweed seems to have been a factor in reducing the numbers as well," he said. "A lot of strikes against him."

A great start

Wilson has been planting milkweed and encouraging others to do the same across southern New Brunswick. That way, the butterflies, whose females lay upwards of 400 eggs each a season, don't need a helping hand to develop their offspring.

But even if butterfly generations have a successful migration to Mexico, there are still problems waiting down south.

Illegal logging in Mexico is cooling down the forested areas of high mountains, where the millions of butterflies gather.

But Wilson is hopeful the recent sightings mean good news for the butterflies is on the horizon.

"[It's] a great start for them this year," he said.