For thousands of years, monarch butterflies have made an annual migration from Canada to Central Mexico, traversing the United States through autumn as they head to their winter roosting spots in the oyamel fir forests.
Their 3,000-mile journey includes flying through the Texas funnel — a specific, narrowed part of the migration corridor that is crucial for monarchs, as it provides essential resources like nectar from flowers and suitable resting sites.
Each fall, Texans get front-row seats to the spectacle of the migration as thousands of butterflies cross the state, clogging up our vehicle windshields and bringing backyard gardens to life. It’s no surprise, then, that the migration has captured the hearts and curious minds of nature lovers who call Texas home, including that of journalist Monika Maeckle, who is currently promoting her new book The Monarch Butterfly Migration: Its Rise and Fall.
Maeckle, a co-founder of the San Antonio Report who also founded San Antonio’s Monarch Butterfly and Pollinator Festival nine years ago, first became obsessed with the regal critters in the early 2000s.
In her book, Maeckle discusses the modern challenges migratory monarch butterflies face, from drought and climate change to loss of Mexican habitat, which is being exacerbated by cartel actions. A skilled writer, Maeckle pushes her readers to consider how pollinators are affected by a changing world and a changing Texas.
Each chapter reads like a short story or a themed essay, exploring different topics, proposing difficult questions and exploring their many answers. Overall, the book begs the question: Is the monarch butterfly endangered, or just its migration?
We sat down with Maeckle in the pollinator garden she built outside her Southside home Monday, where she shared the process behind her publication.
The following interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Q: When did you decide to write this book?
A: I started the book in 2017 and I don’t know exactly what provoked it. But I’d done this deep dive into monarch butterflies for years and I thought, “You know, I’ve always wanted to write a book, I’m gonna start doing this.” It was [originally] much more memoir mixed in, and I have alternate chapters of my own metamorphosis as I was going through the empty nest situation.
Q: Much of the time period covered in your book, from the 1970s to now, happened during your lifetime. Were you aware of all these stories as they unfolded, or when did you first become tuned into them?
A: I probably noticed monarch butterflies as a child but I didn’t really know that they were monarch butterflies. And then I had the experience out in the Hill Country with my friend Jenny Singleton, where she kind of mentored me and taught me about them and introduced me to the whole concept of the monarch migration and the tagging program … when I was in my 50s. So, I mean, that was one of the things that was so shocking. I was like, “How did I not know about this? How have I never heard about this?” And that’s why I was so just drawn to it.
Q: Something I really liked about the book is that you focused a lot on the female scientists who have contributed to what we know about the monarch butterfly. Was that intentional?
A: Yeah, because you do see it throughout that time. Catalina [Trail, who was pictured on the front of the August 1976 National Geographic cover about the discovery of the winter roosting site in Mexico,] is the grossest example — gross in terms of huge — of being dismissed. She’s the one that really led the way. She’s the one who spoke the language. She’s the one who knew the people, and if it wasn’t for her, it wouldn’t have happened at that time.
And then, you know, you had these partners of the scientists who were incredibly instrumental to their success — who were maybe mentioned in passing, but perhaps not given the due that they deserve. I have scientist friends who tell me the struggles that they face as a woman scientist.
Q: You say in your book that Texas is the most important state to the monarch migration. Can you kind of explain to the readers what you mean by that?
A: I’m not the only one that says that. I quote scientists because in the spring, when [the monarchs] move north from Mexico and they’re looking for milkweed, a lot of times one of the first places they lay their eggs is here in Texas. … And then on the way back when they’re flying to Mexico — like right now — the most important thing they need is nectar plants because they’re trying to build up their fat stores so they can make it all the way there and get through the winter. It’s sort of just like bears eating salmon in Alaska. They’re trying to get really fat and store up a lot of extra energy.
Q: In the book you also talk about founding San Antonio’s annual Monarch Butterfly and Pollinator Festival. Tell us about that.
A: The ninth annual festival will take place this weekend at Brackenridge Park on Oct. 5 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. next to the zoo entrance. I’ll be there signing copies of the book for those who want to purchase it from 10 a.m. to noon.
Q: Thanks so much for meeting with us and talking about the book. What’s next for you?
A: Well, I do have another book coming out in March that is a direct result of my deep dive into monarch butterflies. Because what happens when you tell people about all this, they go, “What can we do to help?” Well, you can plant plants with purpose.
That’s the name of my next book, and it basically profiles 25 plants that multitask in hot climates. … I make the comparison that you need to treat your yard like you’re having a dinner party. If you’re going to have a dinner party and you’re going to be shopping for, planning, preparing, cleaning up after, spending time with guests, would you just invite people who are attractive? Or would you invite interesting people, people that do some kind of service to the community, that have some sort of story to tell?
And that’s how you should treat your yard — it shouldn’t just be about beauty, it should be about plants that multitask, that are interesting and have contributions to make or that serve specific purposes.
