Concerns for the West Coast Monarch

The three pictures above, were taken on Wednesday 1st December at Ellwood Monarch Grove just outside Santa Barbara, California, USA by Ellie Broomhead.

The Monarch is one of my favourite butterflies and the life cycle of the West Coast Monarch is fascinating. Over the past few years their plight has become dire with their over-wintering eucalyptus groves being eroded by gales, building and fires. Today, my daughter, who lives near the Grove, was talking to a butterfly expert taking photographs on the site and he said last year there were no swathes of the butterflies visible at Ellwood, but today there was one and many butterflies flying round the tops of the trees. Let's hope it survives as there is nothing more beautiful than seeing these butterflies warming themselves in mid-March before leaving for their summer holiday in the Rocky Mountains.

Jane Broomhead EMBC Branch Organiser