PISMO BEACH, Calif.—The monarch butterflies danced like red autumn leaves in the breeze among the treetops high above California’s Pismo Beach Monarch Garden Grove on Jan. 18.
It took a lot of work to spot them huddled in two large clusters hidden within the tall eucalyptus, basking in the late afternoon sun.
The monarchs had endured much since their arrival—torrential rains, floodwaters, toppled trees, cold snaps, and hungry predators.
Members of the Xerces Society monarch butterfly conservation group said it had been an unusually harsh overwintering season due to many factors, including climate change.
Monarch Grove in Pismo Beach, Calif., on Jan 18, 2023. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)
But the numbers are encouraging….