Letter from Estela Romero: Monarch Colonies Consolidating
Published 11/22/2022
Dear friends,
Since their arrival three weeks ago, monarchs continue to migrate to their sanctuaries. Warmer than usual temperatures seem to be causing a strange activity. A significant number of monarchs have been seen flying downhill as if flying somewhere to the north. Other monarchs have been seen flying southwest and still other monarchs have been seen flying in indeterminate directions. Only a minor portion is returning to former El Rosario and Sierra Chincua locations as of yet. Yet, even with this confusing behavior, some monarchs have started to consolidate in overwintering locations.
In Sierra Chincua Sanctuary, I hiked to an area where some monarchs had formed two main colonies. The El Zacatona colony shows at least 60 trees with considerably dense populations of monarchs. However, this area is not very dense with trees. Some worry that the lack of trees could expose monarchs to unexpected and sudden climate variations.
I hiked with Sara Dykman who found an amazing discovery—a prehistoric obsidian arrowhead not far from the trail! Sara mused that pre-hispanic ancestors, who hunted in the region hundreds to thousands of years ago, could have witnessed monarchs overwintering in the forests. Because these pre-hispanic ancestors viewed the forests and nature as gods, they protected these natural areas. We gave thanks to these ancestors. Because of their conservation ethic, we can still experience this extraordinary phenomenon. It is up to us to preserve this place for future generations. Later that day, Sara delivered this priceless object to members of the Assembly of the Ejido of this sanctuary to share with visitors.
At El Rosario Sanctuary, expert guides assured me that they have spotted three colonies forming. Los Horcones colony, which is also a rather clear site, has a small, quiet colony with an average of 20 trees with beautiful clusters. The day of observation was chilly, cloudy and rainy.
Maybe this sudden and drastic drop in temperatures this weekend will benefit monarchs. We hope they can now adjust given more normal weather conditions and we hope to see less strange flying activity we witnessed over the the last few days.
It should take a few more weeks for the miraculous migration to be defined. We continue to be astonished by their behavior. Foreigner visitors are arriving already as the season slowly reaches its peak.
Estela Romero
Angangueo, Michoacán, México.
Note to our readers: This article has been edited from the original English version.
