Where Have All the Monarchs Gone?

For most of us, the delicate orange and black winged Monarch Butterfly brings back memories of summers gone by.  Multitudes of these beautiful little creatures flitting from one flower to the next, doing their job as pollinators was a common sight.  We might not have noticed that it has become fairly rare to see this little guys anymore.  Where did they all go?  What has happened to them?

Over the past several years, through a series of tragic events, their numbers have dropped from up to 1 billion some years to a mere 33 million.  That's well over a 90% decline in their population.  It's so bad that there is a movement to get them put on the endangered species list.  And all of this has happened in the last few years.  So what exactly happened?

For starters, about half of the monarchs that migrate to Mexico each year are hatched in the Midwestern United States.  The drought of 2012 along with the extreme heat caused reproduction to be very low that year.  Deforestation of their wintering home in Mexico is the second issue.  Each year it is getting smaller and smaller, and the Monarch population is reflecting that.  Thirdly, the overuse of weed killer in the Midwestern states, specifically glyphosate (think Roundup) is causing widespread decline!

Why does it matter?  Monarchs are just one of our pollinators that are in a major decline and in danger of becoming extinct.  Why should we care about our pollinators?  Without pollinators food becomes less and less available.  It is estimated that about 75% of the world's crops depend on pollinators.  This includes apples, blueberries, chocolate, pumpkin, and peaches to name just a very few.

What can be done? Everyone can stop using weed killer and find Eco-friendly ways to control weeds. We can also plant milkweed, the Monarch's food source and only place where they will lay their eggs. Here is a good link on what can be done: http://www.honeycolony.com/article/heres-can-help-bring-monarch-butterflies-honey-bees-back-brink-extinction/.

The Monarch is an indicator on the health of other life on the planet.  If we can't take care of the small things, how can we expect to take care of the big things.

Photo courtesy of all-free download.com

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