This is the first part of a long email that has just about everything you
would want to know about the recent freezing of monarchs in Mexico.  If
anyone is interested in seeing it all, let me know and I'll forward the
entire message.  If you are  interested in butterflies and dragonflies
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Peggy Murdock

Single Storm Kills Over 75% of Eastern North America's Migratory Monarchs

Between 12-16 January 2002, a severe winter storm hit the monarch sanctuary
region deep in central Mexico. Dr. Lincoln Brower and colleagues released
mortality estimates this week. Based on data collected from the two largest
sanctuaries, over 75% of the population was killed by this single storm.

* Sierra Chincua Sanctuary: 74% of the butterflies were killed
* El Rosario Sanctuary: 80% of the population was killed
* At the two colonies combined, an estimated 200-272 million butterflies
were killed.

Significantly, these two huge colonies are the winter sanctuaries of 2/3 of
eastern North America's migratory butterflies. The other 1/3 of the
butterflies are spread among other smaller sites in the vicinity. While
scientists have not yet visited these outlying sites, mortality rates are
feared to be similar because the sites are small, their forest habitat is
less pristine, and because the rain and cold were prolonged in the region.

Dr. Brower described the catastrophe in an interview with Journey North:
"The ground in these two colonies was littered with monarchs that had an
eerie flat, pallid appearance that I have never before seen--like wet
leaves. The heavily packed piles of butterflies were up to 13 inches deep,
and even those that were still alive may not have been able to struggle
out. The main survivors were buried alive, covered by dead butterflies that
were insulating them (from the cold)."

In an interview with National Public Radio Brower said, "The most macabre
aspect of the whole thing was sticking my hands down in and realizing at
the bottom of the pile there were a whole bunch of them still alive."

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