The #Monarch #butterfly depend solely on the #milkweed plant to survive. Milkweed, however, has been disappearing, due to the increased use of the weed killer, Roundup. - http://clapway.com/2015/09/10/monarch-butterfly122/

The population numbers of the beloved Monarch Butterfly are rapidly decreasing, and scientists are working hard this September to save the species.

Monarch butterflies depend solely on the milkweed plant to survive. Milkweed, however, has been disappearing, due to the increased use of the weed killer, Roundup, over the past ten to twenty years. That, combined with more general trends of habitat loss, various effects of climate change, and challenges like the drought in California, has resulted in a ninety percent population decline for monarchs in the past two decades. Scientists currently estimate a global population of around 33 million monarch butterflies, down from over one billion in the past.

Monarch Butterfly Migration Season

There are several factors at work that also complicate the picture. Monarch butterflies are one of the only two-way migratory species other than birds. Every spring, they embark on a 3,000 mile journey north from the mountains of Mexico and return in the fall. The migration can make it a little harder to accurately estimate population numbers; even so, the severity of the decline is not accounting a slip-up.

September marks the start of the southbound butterfly migration season, and scientists are capitalizing on the timing to bring awareness to the species. There have been petitions in the past to include the monarch butterfly on the endangered species list, and though they aren’t currently on it, their status is carefully monitored.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service announced a well-funded five-year plan in August for monarch butterfly habitat restoration. Local museums and community science groups are also working to educate people about the monarch butterfly’s role as a keystone species–they have a disproportionately large amount of importance in their ecosystems in relation to the population size of their species. Monarchs pollinate dozens of beautiful flowers throughout their adult lives that you would be sure to miss if their numbers get too low. They’re also educational and cultural icons, making appearances in weddings, memorials, classrooms, movies and more, in addition to their role as the official insect of eight different US states.

How To Help

You can play a part in preserving the monarch butterfly population by planting native milkweed in your backyard garden to serve as a “Monarch Waystation” during migration season, especially if you live in the Midwest. Look for local opportunities to educate yourself and enjoy the beautiful bugs like nature discovery hikes or gardening tutorials. Or maybe, rent a copy of the 2012 Canadian cult classic (or at least, extremely pleasant and well-received documentary) Flight of the Butterflies and curl up on the couch with a fellow nature-lover.

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Long Live the Beautiful Monarch Butterfly

Save the #monarchy of the #monarch #butterflies! - http://clapway.com/2015/07/19/creating-new-habitat-for-monarch-butterflies-234/

Many people love to see butterflies fluttering by through the air on a nice summer day as a breeze blows gently, cooling the skin. When asked what their favorite type of butterfly is, many people will select the esteemed Monarch Butterflies.

Unfortunately, Monarch butterflies are in a state of continual decline in population size, and run the risk of dying out. Luckily, a group of people in Canada are trying to create a new, ideal habitat for Monarch butterflies so that they are able to reproduce more effectively and rise in population once more.

The Uxbridge Habitat for Monarch Butterflies

Uxbridge, a township in Canada may become the next big habitat for Monarch butterflies. During a council meeting on July 13th, it was decided that they would create a butterfly garden on their land. They will plant milkweed along a railroad track on the township’s land.

Officials say that people seem to have a special connection to Monarch butterflies in particular. By creating this new habitat, it is hoped that the species will spring up and grow in numbers.

The Declination of the Population

Monarch butterflies used to have a population of around 1 billion that migrated annually from Canada, through the United States, finally reaching Mexico. However, now the migratory population is around 50 million. That is a 90 percent decrease in population and represents an enormous problem for the species.

Combatting the Population Drop

In hopes of raising the population back up even a modicum, officials are encouraging the residents of Uxbridge Township to plant milkweed in their yards and gardens. Meanwhile, officials will be planting it in unused plots of land and along abandoned railroad lines. Milkweed is vital to the Monarch butterfly population as it is the only plant that they will lay their eggs on, and it’s also the only plant that the caterpillars that will eventually become the Monarch butterflies will eat.

Hopefully the Monarch butterfly population will grow back up to close to its original size. With the growth of everyone’s favorite butterfly, maybe seeing them more often will brighten more days.

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Creating New Habitat for Monarch Butterflies

Could Vermont Help Save Monarch Butterflies? - http://clapway.com/2015/06/28/could-vermont-help-monarch-butterflies654/

The monarch butterflies are dying out

Perhaps you have seen them flying by in clusters during their normal season migrations to Mexico or California. They form a cloud of orange, black, and white. They are, of course, the monarch butterflies. Yet despite their seemingly massive clusters, their population has been declining recently to the point where it becomes worrisome.
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation estimates that since the 1990s, when an estimated one billion monarch butterflies migrated, there has been an estimated eighty percent drop in population. The number of butterflies making the migration at around 56.6 million. Thus far, partnerships across the U.S. are in place to help recover and restore the population. Towards this end, there’s a monarch breeding habitat in the works.

The threat to our beautiful monarch butterflies

The loss in population is mostly due to the threat of losing milkweed, a plant that is instrumental in sustaining the lives of monarch caterpillars. With the continual use of herbicide, the plant dies out and so does the caterpillar who depends on the plant. But also the loss can be due to other things such as climate change, not just herbicide alone.

Earlier in the year, the Obama Administration and some conversation groups launched efforts to stop the declining population of the monarch butterflies. The plan involved growing two million dollars’ worth of milkweed from Minnesota to Mexico, a route that is the main migration route for the butterflies.

How does Vermont figure in?

Recently, a biologist with the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department stated that the state may play an important factor in helping to sustain the monarch butterfly population. The biologist, Mark Ferguson, says that meadows and fields in the state can provide a nice habitat to house milkweed, the very plant essential to early monarch butterfly life. That way, when the monarch butterflies migrate back north after the winter season is over, to stay in the Vermont area, they then have a nice habitat in which to lay their eggs. There, the young caterpillars feast on the milkweed plant to eventually grow into the monarch butterflies we see flying on their season migration.

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Could Vermont Help Save Monarch Butterflies?