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Monarch Butterflies Down In Numbers

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Officials at Ardenwood Historic Farms in Fremont say the number of monarch butterflies this year is among the lowest they´ve seen in the farm´s history.

The colorful migrating insects are a popular winter attraction at the farm. Experts at Ardenwood say they´re not the only ones to notice the decline. Naturalist Tara Reinertson says the butterfly´s numbers are down all over the West Coast – and nobody seems to know why.

Ardenwood says they have about a thousand butterflies flitting around this year. A normal number at this time of year would be 12,000 to 15,000.

Reinertson says the string of pounding storms might play a role – since Ardenwood had a lot more butterflies on hand before it started to rain.

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