Monarch Butterflies Are Endangered Species Now

Monarch butterflies are now listed as endangered.

Transcript

00:00The migratory monarch butterfly has joined the endangered species list this week.

00:05The IUCN indicated that the butterfly is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.

00:10The migratory monarch weighs less than a gram, but performs one of the most amazing journeys in the animal kingdom.

00:15Migratory monarchs travel from wintering grounds in Mexico and California

00:19to breeding grounds in Canada and the northern United States.

00:22The migration can stretch up to 2,500 miles and a full cycle takes months.

00:27To survive the journey, monarchs rely on rest stops and specific habitats that provide winter shelter for the insects.

00:33Monarchs also rely on milkweed, the only plant their caterpillars can feed on.

00:37However, forest habitats in Mexico and California are threatened by clear-cutting for agriculture and development,

00:43not to mention wildfires that have been exacerbated by climate change.

00:46Meanwhile, pesticide use kills monarchs directly while herbicides kill milkweed.

00:51Drought is also killing milkweed, and early monarch migrations triggered by warming temperatures

00:56which may mean that the monarchs are beginning their journey before milkweed is even available.

01:00IUCN estimates that the native population of migratory monarchs has shrunk between 22 and 72 percent in the past 10 years.

01:07The western population of these butterflies has shrunk by 99.9 percent,

01:12from a population of 10 million in the 1980s to less than 2,000 today.

01:16In 2020, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that adding the monarch to the U.S. Endangered Species List was, quote,

01:23"...warranted but precluded," meaning that the butterfly met criteria for listing under the Endangered Species Act,

01:29but that the FWS did not at the time have enough resources to prioritize the listing due to other, more pressing listing needs.

01:35Anna Walker, a member of IUCN's Butterfly and Moth Specialist Group and a Species Survival Officer at the New Mexico Biopark Society,

01:43said in a statement,

01:44"...it is difficult to watch monarch butterflies and their extraordinary migration teeter on the edge of collapse,

01:50but there are signs of hope, so many people and organizations have come together to try and protect this butterfly and its habitats."

01:56From planting native milkweed and reducing pesticide use to supporting the protection of overwintering sites

02:03and contributing to community science, we all have a role to play in making sure this iconic insect makes a full recovery.