Usually, monarch butterflies spend the winter clustering in pine and fir trees in central Mexico
Government officials have reported that the population of monarch butterflies in Mexico has gone down for the second consecutive year.
Traditionally, in the autumn, the orange and black butterflies migrate from Canada and the US to central Mexico, where they hibernate in pine and fir trees.
Yearly, scientists measure the area in which the monarchs cluster.
However, Mexico's Commissioner for Protected Areas Alejandro del Mazo reported that numbers had diminished by 14.8% this winter.
At a news conference in Mexico City, officials reported that nine colonies of monarch butterflies had been recorded in Mexico in the 2017/2018 winter months, down from 13 last year.
Mr del Mazo stated that "extreme meteorological events" could be a leading cause in the reduction in the numbers of Monarch butterflies overwintering in Mexico.
