Float like a butterfly.This past November, Francisco Gutierrez fulfilled a long-herd dream. He became a butterfly. Gutierrez flew some 4,375 mites in an ultralight ul·tra·light n. A recreational aircraft constructed of lightweight materials such as aluminum, graphite composites, or high-strength plastics, having an engine of roughly 15 to 40 horsepower and often resembling a hang glider with wings. plane, following monarch butterflies as they migrated from Montreal to Michoacan State in the western part of Mexico. The pilot, who is from Michoacan, says he undertook the trip to dramatize dram·a·tize v. dram·a·tized, dram·a·tiz·ing, dram·a·tiz·es v.tr. 1. To adapt (a literary work) for dramatic presentation, as in a theater or on television or radio. 2. the need for Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. to work together to save the butterflies. Illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of national laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission or from a protected area; the cutting of has eaten away at the monarchs' Mexican habitat, white pesticides in the U.S. and Canada have wiped out the milkweed milkweed, common name for members of the Asclepiadaceae, a family of mostly perennial herbs and shrubs characterized by milky sap, a tuft of silky hairs attached to the seed (for wind distribution), and (usually) a climbing habit. on which monarchs feed and lay their eggs. "I can now feet what they face in some of the different parts of Canada, the U.S., and Mexico," says Gutierrez. The World Wildlife Foundation, a sponsor of Gutierrez's flight, has set up a $6.5 million fund to pay people living near Mexican butterfly reserves to report on illegal togging instead of harvesting trees. |
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