Butterfly lovers and entomologists were recently treated to a sight in Berkeley that they have not seen for some time.
Thousands of monarch butterflies had chosen to roost in some trees in Aquatic Park. The colorful insects has selected a resting place just a little bit east of one of the holes on the disc golf course.
According to Arthur M. Shapiro, who is a professor from UC Davis’s Department of Evolution and Ecology, College of Biological Sciences, this past year has been especially good for the monarchs in California, and they have even come back to some of the roosts that they used back in the 1970s and ‘80s.
It was not known how long they will stay roosting in the trees. They may spend winter there, or they may move on to a location somewhere else. The public is reminded that they can be friendly to these butterflies and other insects by not spraying pesticides or herbicides, adding flowering plants that are rich in nectar to their gardens, and choosing to include native milkweeds as well. A company that produces ad specialties can create ones that remind the public about what they can do to help protect these delicate, yet at the same time tough, creatures.
Mia Munroe, who is the coordinator of the Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count, the news about the large number of butterflies is very exciting, and it is the first time in a long time, if ever, that they have been spotted like this in Aquatic Park.
