Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus), once so plentiful, have been woefully scarce this summer. I've seen fewer than a dozen on both the east coast and in the upper mid-west combined this year. In past years, I saw hundreds.
I remember years in the past decade when stands of asters were so alive with migrating monarchs that they looked like animated flower gardens.
Can they rebound?
Monarch butterfly feeding on a butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii) along the Hudson RIver Greenway in Riverside Park, NYC.