FINALLY! We have some good news about monarch butterflies!

Every winter, monarch butterflies in Canada get chilly. (Anyone would get chilly in Canada. Imagine how that icy wind and snow would feel to a thin-winged butterfly with no mittens or coat!) So the butterflies head south. After a long journey, they land in pine and fir forests in the mountains of Mexico.

Next, researchers begin their work. They have counting to do. But it would be impossible to count millions of butterflies one by one. Instead, researchers measure how much area the butterflies cover. Last year, the butterflies covered 6.12 acres. This year, they covered 14.95 acres! That’s more than double the butterflies! That many butterflies have not migrated to Mexico since the 2006-2007 migration. In 2013-2014, Mexico got the smallest migration yet—just 1.66 acres. (At least, it is the smallest as far as we know. Butterflies have probably migrated since God made them! People have kept track of their migrations for only a short time. For a long time, people had no idea where the butterflies went each year!)

People have worried about monarch butterfly populations for years. Like other insects, butterfly numbers can go up a lot one year. They can down a lot the next. Over the years, monarch butterfly numbers have showed a trend―and it’s going down. Ryan Norris is an ecology professor from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. He says this year’s good numbers don’t necessarily mean the butterflies are back on track for good. He calls this year “a Goldilocks year.” For butterflies, this year wasn’t too hot. It wasn’t too cold. It was just right.

A large number of butterflies may have made it to the Mexican woods this year. But are the colorful insects “out of the woods” (out of danger)? Researchers say, “Not yet.”