Eddie's dead: What one monarch's ill-fated journey can teach us about migration patterns - CBC

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Hey, it’s Bryce. I became monarch-obsessed as they boomed this summer on the Prairies. I documented scientists attaching radio trackers to the endangered butterflies. I continue to follow their migration to Mexico on the Project Monarch app — including the journey of one nicknamed Eddie.

A monarch butterfly, nicknamed Eddie by researchers, sports a new radio tracker and antenna on its back after being trapped, tagged and released at the Living Prairie Museum in Winnipeg on Aug. 26. It was the first time monarchs — 29 in total — have been tagged with such transmitters on the Canadian Prairies as part of a Canadian Wildlife Service project. (Bryce Hoye/CBC)

Lauran Burns had the highest of hopes for a butterfly she nicknamed Eddie. 

He was the first of 29 endangered monarchs that she and scientists in Winnipeg outfitted with toothpick-sized solar powered radio trackers using eyelash glue, then set free to migrate to central Mexico.

But after a remarkable 1,200-kilometre flight, Eddie's signal went dark in early October — at the edge of a cul de sac near a cemetery southwest of Kansas City. 

"Just giving one of the butterflies a name … I feel like we connected to Eddie more than the others," said Burns, conservation program manager at the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg.

"[There's] a sad acceptance, I guess, that it's likely he's not going to make the full trip."

Data from Project Monarch and Environment and Climate Change Canada shows the migration path of two of the 29 butterflies tagged in Manitoba — including Eddie, who was southwest of Kansas City as of Thursday, and MB26011, who made it to Mexico on Tuesday. (CBC News Graphics)

Those that make the full trip converge by the millions at a mountaintop World Heritage Site of oyamel fir forests in central Mexico, where they rest until spring.

Far fewer have made the pilgrimage south in the past 15 years or so. 

"About 15 to 20 years ago … there were so many, it was like every 10 feet, if you ran through the clover, it was like a dust of monarchs coming up," said Teddie Laframboise, who farms primarily hay in the south of Ottawa.

"It seems to have been going down and down, and I actually thought there was a little reboot this year, but nothing like before."

The species was red-listed as endangered in 2022 by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Habitat loss, pesticides and other threats are drivers of declines, but exactly how much each is responsible for isn't clear.

There are also mysteries around the spectacular and perilous monarch migration that scientists are beginning to disentangle, thanks to the tiny transmitters. 

The solar-powered backpacks transmit at the same frequency as Bluetooth, so as butterflies flutter along, their signals ping off radio telemetry towers and people's cellphones. Those signals are beamed to the Project Monarch app, where you can track and set alerts for any of the hundreds tagged across the U.S. and Canada this year.

The radio-tagging in Winnipeg this summer was the first time it's been done on the Prairies. It's part of a broader monitoring effort by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), University of Guelph, Assiniboine Park Zoo and others over the past couple years focused on identifying migration patterns and pathways. 

As of Monday, at least 17 (60 per cent) of the Prairie monarchs' signals had gone dark, 10 had made it into Mexico (30 per cent) though not all had arrived yet to their overwintering grounds. Two were still en route.

For the monarchs that make it, Burns says the data could highlight important stopover spots where they rested or fuelled up on nectar. From there, scientists might be able to better push for protections for those habitats.

"You can start to look for trends — you know, are there areas [where] a lot of them stop emitting signals?" said Burns. "Maybe there's too big of a gap in the habitat they need or maybe they don't have that refuelling point to carry on."

The number of monarchs that don't make it from different regions will also reveal something important, said Greg Mitchell, a research scientist with Environment and Climate Change Canada in Ottawa.

"It's going to help us better understand where the pinch points are," said Mitchell. "The survival data is actually probably going to play a really big part in our understanding of the population dynamics."

Mitchell co-chairs the Trinational Monarch Conservation Partnership between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

Though ECCC has only been tracking monarchs for a couple of years and the data still hasn't been fully analyzed, Mitchell notes subtle details are emerging that point to inclement weather as a possible increasing threat factor.

He says last year there were drought conditions and intense wind events in the Kansas region, not all that far from where Eddie's signal last beeped.

"It happened a couple times where there were these stall-outs because of really strong winds in the opposite direction to which they're moving. We lost some," said Mitchell.

"That suggests to me … the weather that they're actually experiencing now might have changed through time with climate change, and so that's going to be really important to look into," he said.

"All this tagging is going to help us understand where maybe different populations of monarchs are more or less affected by climate change."

Old issues of What on Earth? are here. The CBC News climate page is here. 

Check our podcast and radio show. In our latest episode: In the U.S. midterms, data centres and gas prices proved to be winning issues for Democrats. With the party set to control both chambers of Congress, we hear how energy concerns could usher in a new era of climate action — yes, even with Donald Trump still president.  

What On Earth? drops new podcast episodes every Wednesday and Saturday. You can find them on your favourite podcast app or on demand at CBC Listen. The radio show airs Sundays at 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m. in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Check the CBC News Climate Dashboard for live updates on record-breaking weather and current conditions across the country. Set your location to find out how today's temperatures compare to historical trends.

Last week, Bridget Stringer-Holden wrote about youth helping others understand how climate change affects brain health, partly as a way of dealing with climate anxiety.

Doug Sanden, who is from Alberta, wrote: "Regarding research on climate anxiety, it would be interesting to know if there is something equivalent for those worrying about losing fossil fuels — decarbonization anxiety. If so, that might explain some strange emotional reactions to economist-recommended government policies — such as carbon pricing — designed to reduce fossil fuel use. And it might give a focus to those seeking agency through action on the topic of climate change to reduce their own anxiety: helping reduce the anxiety of those worried about decarbonization, by explaining how they and others will transition and at what cost and benefit."

We also featured an article about ways to keep Halloween pumpkins out of the trash. Vivian Unger of Fredericton applauded the idea of feeding them to farm animals and shared her own solution: "I buy pie pumpkins and use them as jack-o'-lanterns. They're smaller, so there's not as much room for [facial] features. But it's doable. You can either carve really small features, or leave the nose out. I put the completed jack-o'-lantern on a plate in the window with a tea light in it. I also keep all the bits I cut out. Some of them can be incorporated into the design, for example by attaching them to the sides of the pumpkin with toothpicks, to make ears. The next day, I carve up the jack-o'-lantern and bake it. Delicious. It can be made into soup, pie or even paleo porridge (recipes available online)."

Got questions, comments or just want to share something? Write us at whatonearth@cbc.ca (and send photos there, too!)

The Big Picture: Mapping freshwater threats(Submitted by Christophe Brabant et al.)

This colourful graphic reflects an inarguably dark message about the state of global freshwater biodiversity — but it could also light a way toward recovery. New research published in the journal Science illustrates the main threats by region that are driving declines of fish, amphibians, reptiles, dragonflies and water-borne mammals. Species within those five groups are among the one-quarter of all freshwater creatures on the planet that are facing extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

A team led by McGill researchers analyzed more than 21,000 freshwater species on the IUCN's "red list" of threatened species. The resulting colour-coded visualization reveals intersecting ranges of species along with the most intense known threats they're facing at the regional level around the world — from dams and water diversion through parts of Western Canada, to agriculture on parts of the Prairies and in South America, to overharvesting in the north and parts of sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.

The researchers hope the map helps conservationists tailor supports for specific groups of freshwater wildlife facing the most intense risks across the globe.

Sewing is having a moment. Here's whyA renewed interest in analogue hobbies and growing concern about the impacts of fast fashion are driving more Canadians to learn how to sew, says Sabine Weber, a professor of fashion at Seneca Polytechnic College in Toronto whose PhD research focused on sustainable fashion. (Jordi Calvera/Shutterstock)

Depending on the corner of the internet you inhabit, you may have noticed that the feeds are full of sewing enthusiasts.

Look up "thrift flips" on Instagram or TikTok and you'll find creators remaking second-hand garments into new ones or old quilts into hoodies and track suits.

On Pinterest, searches for "sewing ideas" are up 118 per cent year over year by its Canadian users, while those for "beginner sewing projects" rose 67 per cent, according to data the platform provided to CBC News.

Sewing hobbyists and the people who teach them say a number of factors — including renewed interest in analog hobbies and growing concern about the impacts of fast fashion — are driving more Canadians to pick up a needle and thread.

"A generation raised on fast fashion is rediscovering the value of making and repairing their own clothes," said Sabine Weber, a professor of fashion at Seneca Polytechnic in Toronto whose PhD research focused on sustainable fashion.

"And now they have discovered thrifting."

Referencing data from Trendex North America, a Canadian apparel market intelligence firm, Weber says the clothing resale market was forecast to grow from around $3.8 billion in 2022 to almost $6 billion in 2026.

Students from Seneca Polytechnic on a visit to the Textile Museum of Canada in Toronto. (Submitted by Sabine Weber)

That shift in shopping habits has prompted people to learn how to make small repairs to thrifted finds, and from there to try more ambitious upcycling projects, she says.

"And then you want to really … show your individuality and your self-expression by making your own clothes."

In Victoria, Erin Kerr says she began in earnest to develop her sewing skills a few years ago. "I had a scrunchie brand called Hair of the Dog that ended up doing pretty well … but I was just kind of sewing rectangles over and over," Kerr told The Current.

Once she expanded her repertoire, Kerr began to offer sewing lessons to get more out of her studio space and bring in a little extra cash.

"We immediately had an email list of hundreds of people that were interested in learning to sew from us," she said.

What started as a weekend project has since morphed into the Sewing Club, a specialty shop and school that offers patterns, fabric, tools and a range of sewing workshops.  

There's also the offline nature of the craft, says Weber.

"It's a very big contrast to all the typing we do and all the machines and phones and iPads and whatever." 

Branislava Pavlovic started sewing in spring 2025 and one of her most prized projects is this jumpsuit made of vintage Toronto Blue Jays bedsheets, which she wears to games. (Submitted by Branislava Pavlovic)

As Branislava Pavlovic points out, "it's literally impossible to be on your phone and sew at the same time."

She took up sewing in the spring of 2025 with beginner classes at the Neon Needle in Toronto, and now works there as studio manager and instructor.

"We find that there's a lot of people who are in tech jobs, engineers and administrators, that just want to come and just do nothing like what they do all day, but actually do something for themselves and be creative."

Candice Alviz, who sews and designs patterns from her home studio in Burlington, Ont., says she thinks the increased interest coincides with a shift in people's understanding of the impacts of fast fashion. (Amanda Grant/CBC)

Ishmam Sarker says he was inspired by some of the sewing content he was seeing on Instagram and TikTok.

"I've always been into fashion … And then I guess the algorithm worked in my favour," Sarker said.

He followed a tutorial on how to make a tote bag and took on more ambitious projects from there.

Candice Alviz thinks the increased interest coincides with a shift in the way people look at fashion.

"Like fast fashion — for a while, people loved it," she said. "You could buy a T-shirt for $10 and it was amazing."

Whereas "people now, their eyes are opened to the fashion industry and how damaging it can be to the environment, and the labour [conditions] and, like, all of it."

Those who are thinking of taking up sewing can check out an endless supply of tutorials online.

But brick-and-mortar studios where people can take in-person classes seem to be increasing in number.

Kerr recommends keeping expectations modest at the start.

"I would say don't get too emotionally attached to your first project, because it's probably going to look bad," she said. "So don't focus too much on the outcome. It's more the process and building your skills."

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