SeeCalifornia.com

A Monarch butterfly flew up to the window where I sat and clung to the screen for quite some time. I’d heard claims that butterflies can represent after-death communication and sure enough, my mother had just passed away. Coincidence? Maybe… but the truth is that butterflies are among nature’s most beautiful and inspiring insects. They only live a short time (several weeks or months) and sadly, many species are in decline. One such butterfly was celebrated during California Western Monarch Day on Feb. 6.

According to a report released on Feb. 4, 2016 volunteers tallied 271,924 overwintering Monarch butterflies in California at 187 sites — not significantly different than last year’s count, and this year’s population estimate represents a 39% decline from the long term average. The number is a fraction of the 1.2 million Monarchs recorded in the late 1990s. With dozens of opportunities to see butterflies in California at butterfly gardens and special events, you may be inspired to help them survive through simple acts such as planting milkweed.