Guest post by Jim Steele
In January 2002, a winter storm brought cold rains followed by clear skies. Without the clouds’ greenhouse effect, clear skies allowed temperatures to plummet to 23°F (- 4°C). Still damp, millions of butterflies simply froze in place. Many millions more fell to the ground creating an eerie carpet of dead and dying butterflies several inches deep. Altogether, 500 million butterflies died that winter, killing 80% of the entire eastern population. That the survival of the entire eastern monarch population could hinge on conditions affecting such a small area became a huge concern.
Hi Mike
Due to a weak signal, in this location I could not open any of your links
However on to the Monarch Butterfly
I was expecting to see lots of butterflies on the Hawaiian Islands
However, to date I have seen exactly one
Not that I was actively seeking out any natural birds and insects etc. I was surprised. So I looked up the reason for a lack of butterflies given the climate etc.
It seems the butterfly was introduced to Hawaii, but the birds found the larva easy prey. Given a lack of numbers I guess that is why I don't see any butterflies
Too bad as we don't really want any species of birds plants or animals to become extinct