CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – A new report shows a sharp decline in monarch butterflies migrating to Mexico as well as a loss of habitat in the forests they spend their winter each year.
According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the presence of monarch butterflies in Mexico dropped 22 percent, from 7.7 acres to 5.5 acres. Their population during the winter months has been on the decline for the last 25 years. At one point, monarch butterflies covered more than 45 acres of forest.
Monarch butterflies travel up to 2,800 miles from as far as Canada and New England to their winter sites in Mexico forests using a combination of the magnetic pull of the planet and the position of the sun. This is one of the longest migrations of insect species known to scientists. They then return to the north once winter ends and breed along the way.
Changes in their habitats across North America are believed to be the cause of their population decline. There has been a reduced amount of breed habitat in the United States due to herbicide application and forest degradation at their wintering sites in Mexico.
“It is not just about conserving a species, it’s also about conserving a unique migratory phenomenon in nature,” said WWF-Mexico’s General Director Jorge Rickards. “Monarchs contribute to healthy and diverse terrestrial ecosystems across North America as they carry pollen from one plant to another. With 80% of agricultural food production depending on pollinators like monarchs, when people help the species, we are also helping ourselves.”
The United States has not officially listed the monarch butterfly under the Endangered Species list yet. However, in July 2022 the International Union for the Conservation of Nature added the butterfly for the first time to its “red list” of threatened species, considering it as “endangered.”
There are some things you can do in your yard to help the monarch butterfly population such as growing milkweed species. There are several types you can grow, such as common milkweed, swamp milkweed, butterfly milkweed, whorled milkweed, and poke milkweed.
