Have you ever noticed that meadows of long grass seem to be teeming with butterflies, bumble bees, beetles, crickets and other insects? Meanwhile, short-cropped, bright green lawns appear devoid of critters in comparison. A six-year study of butterfly sightings in 600 gardens in the United Kingdom has confirmed that letting your lawn grow wild can […]
After many years of plummeting populations of migrating monarch butterflies, a WWF-Mexico survey brings good news: during the 2021-2022 overwintering period, the monarch butterfly presence observed in the forests of Mexico was 35% higher than the previous year. While the butterflies are still vulnerable and require more conservation efforts, the survey gives some hope for […]
The National Butterfly Center in Texas that stood up to former President Donald Trump’s border wall is now shuttering indefinitely because of harassment from right-wing conspiracy theorists. The 100-acre nature preserve in Mission, Texas has been in an ongoing legal battle with the former Trump administration and non-profit We Build a Wall in order to […]
Last year, the number of western monarch butterflies wintering on the California coast reached a record low, alarming conservationists. But this year, unofficial counts show the iconic insects returning to their winter haunts by the hundreds and thousands. “We are overjoyed that migratory monarch butterflies have not disappeared from the western U.S.,” Xerces Society for […]
By Nanticha Ocharoenchai In the Czech Republic, horses have become the knights in shining armor. A study published in the Journal for Nature Conservation suggests that returning feral horses to grasslands in Podyjí National Park could help boost the numbers of several threatened butterfly species. In 2017, wildlife organizations laid out their plan to introduce […]
While Trump’s border wall has yet to be completed, the threat it poses to pollinators is already felt, according to the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas, as reported by Transmission & Distribution World. Earlier this year, EcoWatch reported that construction equipment showed up around the center, ready to bulldoze more than 70 percent of […]
Southern California is in the midst of a “magical” surprise: unusually large swarms of Painted Lady butterflies filling the skies from San Diego to Pasadena. “Everyone was posting about the butterflies all over Instagram,” a woman told CBS Los Angeles Tuesday. “I saw so many, it was kinda like a swarm of them. It was […]
Construction equipment has arrived to build a border wall through the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas, a protected habitat for more than 200 species of wild butterflies and other unique wildlife. A planned 5.5 mile section of concrete and steel border wall that is already funded will cut off 70 percent of the 100-acre […]
[facebook https://www.facebook.com/EcoWatch/videos/345706262651120/ expand=1] Bulldozers are expected to arrive at the National Butterfly Center in February or early March. A planned 5.5 mile section of concrete and steel border wall that is already funded will cut straight through the most diverse butterfly sanctuary in the U.S. Marianna Wright, executive director of the National Butterfly Center believes […]