Mexican authorities battling illegal logging in butterfly sanctuaries, where thousands of monarch butterflies migrate annually, have been forced to cut down trees to attack a deadly tree worm pest in the central Mexican state of Michoacan. The monarch butterfly reserve is being affected by a tree worm infestation. This has forced biologists and park workers to cut down about 10,000 trees in an effort to clean up the forest and prepare for the annual arrival of the orange and black monarch butterflies. Tourists, scientists and local residents eagerly await the annual event. Beginning in October, millions of monarch butterflies flee the cold winters of Canada and northern United States and travel thousands of miles to hibernate and reproduce in the temperate woods of central Mexico. Hundreds of trees crowded with butterflies can be seen along the reserve. The Mexican government has protected 660 thousand hectares of land as part of the monarchs' reserve and expects to increase it to 3 million hectares in coming years.
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