People Willing to Spend Billions to Keep Monarch Butterflies Around
- 11 years ago
People aren’t typically passionate about insect preservation, but when it comes to saving the monarch butterfly, Americans are willing to shell out billions of dollars.
People aren’t typically passionate about insect preservation, but when it comes to saving the monarch butterfly, Americans are willing to shell out billions of dollars.
A recent survey on the matter showed that many are willing to make what amounts to over 4 billion in conservation contributions.
Among the efforts people said they’d make to keep their little buddies around is planting milkweed, breeding ground for the butterflies.
The plant is the only one monarchs see fit for egg laying. Further, the caterpillars feed on it.
Its disappearance from the American landscape is considered to be a primary reason the numbers of the species have declined so significantly over the years.
Once farmers started using specially formulated seeds and more efficient pesticides, the milkweed didn’t grow as densely as it once did.
As a result of that and other factors, in 2012 the number of monarchs making it to Mexico for the winter dropped by 59 percent.
Even if a fraction of that money makes it to the cause, conservationists say it could be a significant help.
Also hoped for is that people will begin to plant more monarch-friendly plants.
People aren’t typically passionate about insect preservation, but when it comes to saving the monarch butterfly, Americans are willing to shell out billions of dollars.
A recent survey on the matter showed that many are willing to make what amounts to over 4 billion in conservation contributions.
Among the efforts people said they’d make to keep their little buddies around is planting milkweed, breeding ground for the butterflies.
The plant is the only one monarchs see fit for egg laying. Further, the caterpillars feed on it.
Its disappearance from the American landscape is considered to be a primary reason the numbers of the species have declined so significantly over the years.
Once farmers started using specially formulated seeds and more efficient pesticides, the milkweed didn’t grow as densely as it once did.
As a result of that and other factors, in 2012 the number of monarchs making it to Mexico for the winter dropped by 59 percent.
Even if a fraction of that money makes it to the cause, conservationists say it could be a significant help.
Also hoped for is that people will begin to plant more monarch-friendly plants.