A beloved butterfly is in peril. It’s not alone.
By the Editorial Board
August 1, 2022
Monarch butterflies are pictured at the El Rosario sanctuary on March 18, 2008, in Michoacan, Mexico. (Luis Acosta/AFP/Getty Images)
It’s one of nature’s most incredible sights: Millions of monarch butterflies, clustered together across the tree line, moving their wings in near unison. As the temperature warms, the butterflies take flight, cascading through the forest in a sea of orange, white and black. No wonder these swarms are, evocatively, also called kaleidoscopes.
Every year, monarch butterflies undertake the arduous 3,000-mile journey from the Great Lakes to winter in California and Mexico. They have followed this migratory path for centuries, pollinating flowers across the continent and inspiring awe in generations of Americans. Now, these creatures — an indelible part of many childhood memories — are under threat.
In July, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) placed the species on its “Red List,” designating it “endangered.” Estimates suggest that the monarch population has declined between 22 percent and 72 percent in the past decade alone; the population in the west has shrunk by an estimated 99.9 percent since the 1980s
Some variation in butterfly numbers is normal. But looking at 10-year averages, it is clear the population is fluctuating around a mean well below the range of the 1990s and 2000s. Experts attribute the decline to habitat loss and climate change. As North American farms increasingly use herbicides associated with genetically modified corn and soybeans, milkweed plants — the sole diet of monarch caterpillars — are disappearing. That, coupled with urbanization and the extreme weather events of the past few years, has imperiled monarch breeding.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spent years assessing whether it should list monarchs as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. It eventually decided that, though monarchs met the criteria for protection, many other species were at higher risk and had greater need of federal intervention. It is a sad reflection on the state of the world that so many species merit this designation, with limited resources on hand to help them.
The recent IUCN classification does not trigger any legal or regulatory responses. Still, the news should drive attention to the pressures facing monarchs — and other flora and fauna affected by deforestation, global warming and other threats to biodiversity. This includes creatures that are less recognizable and beloved. A 2019 scientific review found that a third of insect species were endangered, with a rate of extinction eight times higher than reptiles, birds and mammals. Data suggests that the total mass of insects worldwide is declining by more than 2 percent annually
Planting more milkweed and nectar-producing flowers could help monarchs. But, as with all forms of conservation, individual efforts can only do so much. Policies that address climate change, maintain protected lands and curb cultivation on marginal land with little commercial value would have far greater impact — for butterflies and many other forms of wildlife.
Our natural world is full of marvels. We should do what we can to preserve them for future generations — and ensure our planet’s ecosystems can survive and thrive.
Beloved monarch butterflies now listed as endangered
Monarch butterflies land on branches at Monarch Grove Sanctuary in Pacific Grove, Calif., Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021. On Thursday, July 21, 2022, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature said migrating monarch butterflies have moved closer to extinction in the past decade – prompting scientists to officially designate them as “endangered.” (AP Photo/Nic Coury, File)
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
PUBLISHED: July 21, 2022
By Christina Larson | Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The monarch butterfly fluttered a step closer to extinction Thursday, as scientists put the iconic orange-and-black insect on the endangered list because of its fast dwindling numbers.
“It’s just a devastating decline,” said Stuart Pimm, an ecologist at Duke University who was not involved in the new listing. “This is one of the most recognizable butterflies in the world.”
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature added the migrating monarch butterfly for the first time to its “red list” of threatened species and categorized it as “endangered” — two steps from extinct.
The group estimates that the population of monarch butterflies in North America has declined between 22% and 72% over 10 years, depending on the measurement method.
“What we’re worried about is the rate of decline,” said Nick Haddad, a conservation biologist at Michigan State University. “It’s very easy to imagine how very quickly this butterfly could become even more imperiled.”
August 1, 2022
Monarch butterflies are pictured at the El Rosario sanctuary on March 18, 2008, in Michoacan, Mexico. (Luis Acosta/AFP/Getty Images)
It’s one of nature’s most incredible sights: Millions of monarch butterflies, clustered together across the tree line, moving their wings in near unison. As the temperature warms, the butterflies take flight, cascading through the forest in a sea of orange, white and black. No wonder these swarms are, evocatively, also called kaleidoscopes.
Every year, monarch butterflies undertake the arduous 3,000-mile journey from the Great Lakes to winter in California and Mexico. They have followed this migratory path for centuries, pollinating flowers across the continent and inspiring awe in generations of Americans. Now, these creatures — an indelible part of many childhood memories — are under threat.
In July, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) placed the species on its “Red List,” designating it “endangered.” Estimates suggest that the monarch population has declined between 22 percent and 72 percent in the past decade alone; the population in the west has shrunk by an estimated 99.9 percent since the 1980s
Some variation in butterfly numbers is normal. But looking at 10-year averages, it is clear the population is fluctuating around a mean well below the range of the 1990s and 2000s. Experts attribute the decline to habitat loss and climate change. As North American farms increasingly use herbicides associated with genetically modified corn and soybeans, milkweed plants — the sole diet of monarch caterpillars — are disappearing. That, coupled with urbanization and the extreme weather events of the past few years, has imperiled monarch breeding.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spent years assessing whether it should list monarchs as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. It eventually decided that, though monarchs met the criteria for protection, many other species were at higher risk and had greater need of federal intervention. It is a sad reflection on the state of the world that so many species merit this designation, with limited resources on hand to help them.
The recent IUCN classification does not trigger any legal or regulatory responses. Still, the news should drive attention to the pressures facing monarchs — and other flora and fauna affected by deforestation, global warming and other threats to biodiversity. This includes creatures that are less recognizable and beloved. A 2019 scientific review found that a third of insect species were endangered, with a rate of extinction eight times higher than reptiles, birds and mammals. Data suggests that the total mass of insects worldwide is declining by more than 2 percent annually
Planting more milkweed and nectar-producing flowers could help monarchs. But, as with all forms of conservation, individual efforts can only do so much. Policies that address climate change, maintain protected lands and curb cultivation on marginal land with little commercial value would have far greater impact — for butterflies and many other forms of wildlife.
Our natural world is full of marvels. We should do what we can to preserve them for future generations — and ensure our planet’s ecosystems can survive and thrive.
Beloved monarch butterflies now listed as endangered
Monarch butterflies land on branches at Monarch Grove Sanctuary in Pacific Grove, Calif., Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021. On Thursday, July 21, 2022, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature said migrating monarch butterflies have moved closer to extinction in the past decade – prompting scientists to officially designate them as “endangered.” (AP Photo/Nic Coury, File)
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
PUBLISHED: July 21, 2022
By Christina Larson | Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The monarch butterfly fluttered a step closer to extinction Thursday, as scientists put the iconic orange-and-black insect on the endangered list because of its fast dwindling numbers.
“It’s just a devastating decline,” said Stuart Pimm, an ecologist at Duke University who was not involved in the new listing. “This is one of the most recognizable butterflies in the world.”
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature added the migrating monarch butterfly for the first time to its “red list” of threatened species and categorized it as “endangered” — two steps from extinct.
The group estimates that the population of monarch butterflies in North America has declined between 22% and 72% over 10 years, depending on the measurement method.
“What we’re worried about is the rate of decline,” said Nick Haddad, a conservation biologist at Michigan State University. “It’s very easy to imagine how very quickly this butterfly could become even more imperiled.”
The monarch butterflies are photographed in the Pacific Grove butterfly grove on Monday, November 7, 2005.
(Vern Fisher/Monterey County Herald)
Haddad, who was not directly involved in the listing, estimates that the population of monarch butterflies he studies in the eastern United States has declined between 85% and 95% since the 1990s.
In North America, millions of monarch butterflies undertake the longest migration of any insect species known to science.
After wintering in the mountains of central Mexico, the butterflies migrate to the north, breeding multiple generations along the way for thousands of miles. The offspring that reach southern Canada then begin the trip back to Mexico at the end of summer.
“It’s a true spectacle and incites such awe,” said Anna Walker, a conservation biologist at New Mexico BioPark Society, who was involved in determining the new listing.
A monarch butterfly rests on a flower at Palo Alto’s Rinconada Park Community Garden near Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021.
Haddad, who was not directly involved in the listing, estimates that the population of monarch butterflies he studies in the eastern United States has declined between 85% and 95% since the 1990s.
In North America, millions of monarch butterflies undertake the longest migration of any insect species known to science.
After wintering in the mountains of central Mexico, the butterflies migrate to the north, breeding multiple generations along the way for thousands of miles. The offspring that reach southern Canada then begin the trip back to Mexico at the end of summer.
“It’s a true spectacle and incites such awe,” said Anna Walker, a conservation biologist at New Mexico BioPark Society, who was involved in determining the new listing.
A monarch butterfly rests on a flower at Palo Alto’s Rinconada Park Community Garden near Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021.
(Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
A smaller group spends winters in coastal California, then disperses in spring and summer across several states west of the Rocky Mountains. This population has seen an even more precipitous decline than the eastern monarchs, although there was a small bounce-back last winter.
Emma Pelton of the nonprofit Xerces Society, which monitors the western butterflies, said the butterflies are imperiled by loss of habitat and increased use of herbicides and pesticides for agriculture, as well as climate change.
“There are things people can do to help,” she said, including planting milkweed, a plant that the caterpillars depend upon.
Nonmigratory monarch butterflies in Central and South America were not designated as endangered.
The United States has not listed monarch butterflies under the Endangered Species Act, but several environmental groups believe it should be listed.
The international union also announced new estimates for the global population of tigers, which are 40% higher than the most recent estimates from 2015.
The new figures, of between 3,726 and 5,578 wild tigers worldwide, reflect better methods for counting tigers and, potentially, an increase in their overall numbers, said Dale Miquelle, coordinator for the nonprofit Wildlife Conservation Society’s tiger program.
In the past decade, tiger populations have increased in Nepal, northern China and perhaps in India, while tigers have disappeared entirely from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, said Miquelle. They remain designated as endangered.
A smaller group spends winters in coastal California, then disperses in spring and summer across several states west of the Rocky Mountains. This population has seen an even more precipitous decline than the eastern monarchs, although there was a small bounce-back last winter.
Emma Pelton of the nonprofit Xerces Society, which monitors the western butterflies, said the butterflies are imperiled by loss of habitat and increased use of herbicides and pesticides for agriculture, as well as climate change.
“There are things people can do to help,” she said, including planting milkweed, a plant that the caterpillars depend upon.
Nonmigratory monarch butterflies in Central and South America were not designated as endangered.
The United States has not listed monarch butterflies under the Endangered Species Act, but several environmental groups believe it should be listed.
The international union also announced new estimates for the global population of tigers, which are 40% higher than the most recent estimates from 2015.
The new figures, of between 3,726 and 5,578 wild tigers worldwide, reflect better methods for counting tigers and, potentially, an increase in their overall numbers, said Dale Miquelle, coordinator for the nonprofit Wildlife Conservation Society’s tiger program.
In the past decade, tiger populations have increased in Nepal, northern China and perhaps in India, while tigers have disappeared entirely from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, said Miquelle. They remain designated as endangered.
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