> The western population is at greatest risk of extinction, having declined by an estimated 99.9%, from as many as 10 million to 1,914 butterflies between the 1980s and 2021.
Insane. I wonder if recovery is even possible without devoted breeding efforts. A population this small could easily be wiped out by birds or a single storm.
My parents and their neighbours had plenty of flowers and suitable plants growing in their gardens. They live in a small tourist town in south west Ireland.
I have vivid memories as a child of what was likely thousands of monarch butterflies every summer, probably until I was 10 or so, in and around the flowers and plants.
Then then open pastures behind my parents house were bulldozed and a private housing estate was built and at the same time my parents also tarred their front drive. From then on the butterflies started to dwindle significantly.
Those two events were the only great change in the immediate surroundings until twelve-or-so years later when a brutal winter killed a lot of the trees and plants.
The problem is destruction of native plants and habitat. Monarch butterflies only use milkweeds, such as swamp milkweed and common milkweed. It’s my understanding that they like those two the most but maybe which milkweed they prefer is region dependent.
If one wants to help the monarchs, and several other pollinator species, then plant swamp and common milkweed. They grow very easily and actually have pleasant blooms.
It’s almost as of the problem couldn’t be simpler to solve. Just plant these and watch how much activity they generate almost immediately. I did it and have been seeing monarch butterflies lately. Not a lot, but some.
Of particular worry, decreasing population entails decreasing gene pool (as I understand it). Thus, with a lack of sufficient genetic diversity in a small population, the species enters a mutation-motivated extinction vortex [1].
Biology is a very existing field from the standpoint of mathematical formalism, which is lacking relative to the much older field of Physics. In this regard, I'm reminded of how the overly simple math of Mendelian inheritance motivated the bad policy of eugenics [2].
I welcome any proper Biologists to correct my remarks. I have but passing interest!
Unlikely to ever recover due to habitat loss. I remember seeing many many more monarchs in the early 80s, and it's insane to think I may have already seen the last one I'll ever see.
Similar story with a much larger animal; the American bison. The low end estimates say their used to be 30 million roaming the plains. There are half a million now, most livestock. We'll never get them back.
If any of you are in California and are interested in creating a habitat for Monarch caterpillars around your home, I highly recommend Narrow-leaf milkweed. It's one of the native milkweeds and its the favorite of my caterpillars (they hate Showy milkweed).
Will add, if you're buying from a nursery, make sure the grower they source from use neonicotinoids free soil.
I've been visited by so so many different butterflies this year. I'm in Zone 6B, central NJ. I planted asclepias tuberosa (mexican milkweed, orange flowers, medium height), lots of agastache, eupatorium (little joe pyeweed), and monarda. Highly recommend doing some research on natives.
Interesting. In my area (Southern California), the Monarchs seem to really prefer the Tropical (Asclepias curassavica). We plante it when a local Monarch enthusiast recommended it. Now that we're more educated, we've been gradually getting rid of it.
One of the most interesting things I ever saw sailing was a singular monarch butterfly in the middle of the gulf-stream about halfway back from bermuda. This was over 300 miles away from any land (including bermuda).
It stopped for a very brief rest (a second or two at most) and then continued flying in the opposite direction. Very unexpected and surreal but this really speaks to the sort of distances they can travel without stopping.
Does anyone know how common these kind of sightings are? Very sad to find out that these butterflies are now considered endangered.
in the Atlantic? likely it was blown off course, they're obviously very light and winds play a large factor in their migration
it's not unusual to spot a monarch somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, like an oil rig, but it's not entirely clear how many try to take that 900 mile flight... it's more likely they're blown off course and won't make it to shore unless wind conditions are just right enough to carry them
I've been told, by a local farmer / restaurant owner from Torreón, that monarch preserves in Mexico are under pressure from cartels that want to convert the land into avocado farms, through violence if necessary. Some restaurants are already taking avocados off the menu as a result, and I've been cutting them out of my diet as well (irrespective of origin).
I think history (if there is any) will judge harshly the decision to allow the use of neonicotinids.
In addition to general habitat destruction, the indisciminate obliteration of insect populations is going to bite humanity on the ass in ways we can't even imagine yet.
I just read Flight Behavior, by Barbara Kingsolver, which has a plot with a backdrop of Monarch butterflies, their migration and the threats climate changes can pose to them. It's a great book, I recommend it.
I had a single milkweed potted plant on my roof. Within a day I saw a monarch on it. Within a few weeks I had about 20 caterpillars devour it. Within a few more weeks, I counted 16 chrysalises around my patio, of which 13 flew away successfully. Pretty amazing.
If you find yourself in California's Monterey Bay area (Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Salinas, Monterey) there are still Monarch habitats you can visit. It's worth seeing if you're halfway interested in nature.
And if you live in the area you can plant flowers to support the Monarch migration. I learned recently you're not supposed to plant milkweed close to the established breeding habitats, just plant regular wildflowers they can feed on while they're headed to the butterfly sex party.
> you're not supposed to plant milkweed close to the established breeding habitats
Overwintering sites, not breeding sites. Monarchs migrating south & at the winter roosting sites don't need milkweed since they're not breeding or laying eggs. While the overwintering sites are in Central Mexico, the breeding sites for the northern migrants is in the Southwestern US - where they do need milkweed. Exposure to milkweed while overwintering triggers breeding and laying eggs, which is disruptive to the migration pattern. Native Milkweed elsewhere along the northern migration path is beneficial, just not where they're wintering.
I read Ceballos the other day, a brilliant conservation biologist talking often of the 6th mass extinction, saying in an informal context that homo sapiens would not survive it.
I know that kind of science, i have read thousands of articles these last years. I love dystopian Sci-Fi too.
I think it's a special moment when you see the experts discussing the possible extinction of your own species, and that every dataset, every model, points a bit more towards it.
And i see climatologists, Mann included, saying climate impacts are coming decades in advance.
Local radio talking about this story interviewed gardeners that suggested planting milkweed, as if a some scattered houses will make any sort of difference.
Meanwhile global climate change and widespread habitat destruction for farms and industry will doom the species.
No discussion of the broader systemic issues or about how the status quo habits of our society has created this crisis.
For those commenting that this is only the migratory subspecies - yes, you are quite correct, but do note that this is the only subspecies you will see in the USA - except in the south of Florida. The non-migratory subspecies is found from southern Florida down through the Caribbean, Central America, and South America north of the Amazon Drainage.
seen this with my own eyes in my lifetime, here on the West Coast of California.. powerfully emotional if you have imprinted on it at a certain age; I suspect that the vast majority of people literally have more interest in the next five minutes than those flying things.. specialists are called for..
I see these in Brooklyn, and I'm always amazed that they (and other butterflies) can get here. They must go over stretches dozens of miles long without any food or water.
Is this the main species of monarch? I have them in my yard pretty regularly, but I also plant milkweed, their host plant to try and provide them with some habitat.
I feel bad that as a kid we had a neighbor that would pay us to collect them so she could have them close up and paint pictures of them. We didn’t kill that many but definitely killed a few. I just went on Amazon and bought a pack of milkweed seeds to plant in my yard to make up for that mistake as a kid. I have seen quite a few of them flying around this year. Hope to see them bounce back.
Plant milkweed. They may take a few years to establish, but it's effective. We get monarchs every year now. This is in an urban area.
Small conservation efforts really do make a difference. Don't be discouraged that you're not fixing the big issues. Pollinator gardens will improve biodiversity in your own little corner of the world, and that's worthwhile in and of itself.
(2) "Raise the migration" - plant native milkweed in your region and learn how to raise butterflies for release. I followed tips on this blog (link below) for the past two years and have released more than 50+ healthy monarchs into the wild. It's been very fun and rewarding, but unfortunately this year I observed far fewer monarchs in our region compared to previous years. They need our help.
If you have a yard in the right area, plant milkweed. I have at least 10 plants in my yard. I enjoy watching the little guys munching away until they suddenly dart off to the vines to cocoon.
[+] [-] grapeskin|3 years ago|reply
Insane. I wonder if recovery is even possible without devoted breeding efforts. A population this small could easily be wiped out by birds or a single storm.
[+] [-] frumper|3 years ago|reply
https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/01/26/western-monarch-butte...
[+] [-] illwrks|3 years ago|reply
I have vivid memories as a child of what was likely thousands of monarch butterflies every summer, probably until I was 10 or so, in and around the flowers and plants. Then then open pastures behind my parents house were bulldozed and a private housing estate was built and at the same time my parents also tarred their front drive. From then on the butterflies started to dwindle significantly. Those two events were the only great change in the immediate surroundings until twelve-or-so years later when a brutal winter killed a lot of the trees and plants.
Never again have I see as many in a single place.
[+] [-] bmitc|3 years ago|reply
If one wants to help the monarchs, and several other pollinator species, then plant swamp and common milkweed. They grow very easily and actually have pleasant blooms.
It’s almost as of the problem couldn’t be simpler to solve. Just plant these and watch how much activity they generate almost immediately. I did it and have been seeing monarch butterflies lately. Not a lot, but some.
[+] [-] kvathupo|3 years ago|reply
Biology is a very existing field from the standpoint of mathematical formalism, which is lacking relative to the much older field of Physics. In this regard, I'm reminded of how the overly simple math of Mendelian inheritance motivated the bad policy of eugenics [2].
I welcome any proper Biologists to correct my remarks. I have but passing interest!
[1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_erosion
[2] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Mendelian_inheritance
[+] [-] micromacrofoot|3 years ago|reply
Similar story with a much larger animal; the American bison. The low end estimates say their used to be 30 million roaming the plains. There are half a million now, most livestock. We'll never get them back.
[+] [-] moviewise|3 years ago|reply
Monarch butterflies in California need eucalyptus trees for their winter roost https://milliontrees.me/2013/11/01/monarch-butterflies-in-ca...
[+] [-] pamelafox|3 years ago|reply
You can find nurseries with Narrow-leaf here: https://calscape.org/nurseries.php?id=434&showmap=1
Or you can grow from seed: https://larnerseeds.com/products/asclepias-fascicularis-narr...
I do both, since you can never have enough milkweed!
Here's a video of a Monarch butterfly recently flying for the first time after pupating on our Salvia: https://studio.youtube.com/video/edTgi7f1NlY/edit
[+] [-] kshahkshah|3 years ago|reply
I've been visited by so so many different butterflies this year. I'm in Zone 6B, central NJ. I planted asclepias tuberosa (mexican milkweed, orange flowers, medium height), lots of agastache, eupatorium (little joe pyeweed), and monarda. Highly recommend doing some research on natives.
[+] [-] 14|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] angst_ridden|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] eklitzke|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|3 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] lbrindze|3 years ago|reply
It stopped for a very brief rest (a second or two at most) and then continued flying in the opposite direction. Very unexpected and surreal but this really speaks to the sort of distances they can travel without stopping.
Does anyone know how common these kind of sightings are? Very sad to find out that these butterflies are now considered endangered.
[+] [-] micromacrofoot|3 years ago|reply
it's not unusual to spot a monarch somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, like an oil rig, but it's not entirely clear how many try to take that 900 mile flight... it's more likely they're blown off course and won't make it to shore unless wind conditions are just right enough to carry them
[+] [-] spankalee|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] time_to_smile|3 years ago|reply
Two ways.
Gradually, then suddenly."
-- Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises
[+] [-] JKCalhoun|3 years ago|reply
In the years following when we stopped by it was grim, so few of them.
[+] [-] rch|3 years ago|reply
Edit: here's a link -- https://www.npr.org/2020/02/03/802359415/sadness-and-worry-a...
[+] [-] dkasper|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] angst_ridden|3 years ago|reply
In addition to general habitat destruction, the indisciminate obliteration of insect populations is going to bite humanity on the ass in ways we can't even imagine yet.
[+] [-] nr2x|3 years ago|reply
We’re in the midst of a very rare event, that we caused, are making worse, and we don’t know what will ultimately happen.
[+] [-] johnyzee|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] debacle|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ralusek|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nolroz|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] retrocryptid|3 years ago|reply
And if you live in the area you can plant flowers to support the Monarch migration. I learned recently you're not supposed to plant milkweed close to the established breeding habitats, just plant regular wildflowers they can feed on while they're headed to the butterfly sex party.
https://www.pgmuseum.org/how-to-help-monarchs
[+] [-] valarauko|3 years ago|reply
Overwintering sites, not breeding sites. Monarchs migrating south & at the winter roosting sites don't need milkweed since they're not breeding or laying eggs. While the overwintering sites are in Central Mexico, the breeding sites for the northern migrants is in the Southwestern US - where they do need milkweed. Exposure to milkweed while overwintering triggers breeding and laying eggs, which is disruptive to the migration pattern. Native Milkweed elsewhere along the northern migration path is beneficial, just not where they're wintering.
[+] [-] immmmmm|3 years ago|reply
I know that kind of science, i have read thousands of articles these last years. I love dystopian Sci-Fi too.
I think it's a special moment when you see the experts discussing the possible extinction of your own species, and that every dataset, every model, points a bit more towards it.
And i see climatologists, Mann included, saying climate impacts are coming decades in advance.
What a time to be "alive".
[+] [-] Tiktaalik|3 years ago|reply
Local radio talking about this story interviewed gardeners that suggested planting milkweed, as if a some scattered houses will make any sort of difference.
Meanwhile global climate change and widespread habitat destruction for farms and industry will doom the species.
No discussion of the broader systemic issues or about how the status quo habits of our society has created this crisis.
[+] [-] goosegoose|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mistrial9|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|3 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] pastor_bob|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tmountain|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] 14|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] beckingz|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] trgn|3 years ago|reply
Small conservation efforts really do make a difference. Don't be discouraged that you're not fixing the big issues. Pollinator gardens will improve biodiversity in your own little corner of the world, and that's worthwhile in and of itself.
[+] [-] accumulator|3 years ago|reply
(2) "Raise the migration" - plant native milkweed in your region and learn how to raise butterflies for release. I followed tips on this blog (link below) for the past two years and have released more than 50+ healthy monarchs into the wild. It's been very fun and rewarding, but unfortunately this year I observed far fewer monarchs in our region compared to previous years. They need our help.
https://monarchbutterflylifecycle.com/blogs/raise/raise-the-...
[+] [-] colechristensen|3 years ago|reply
Oak trees build ecosystems because an unusually large number of species of insect and birds use them and what feeds on them for food.
[+] [-] kornhole|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Tiktaalik|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] philliphaydon|3 years ago|reply
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/127540958/new-zealands-m...