
Monarch butterfly numbers keep declining - accordionclown
https://beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/2018/03/monarch-butterfly-numbers-keep-declining/
======
tlb
As it happens, I just got back from seeing the Monarch grove in Mexico. It's
an amazing sight. When the sun comes out from behind the clouds and they all
warm up and take off within a couple minutes, the air is so full of them that
they darken the sky. And the mountain (in Michoacan province, about 2 hours by
car from Mexico City) is beautiful and the people are friendly. If you've seen
the Monarch groves on the California coast, Mexico has 2 orders of magnitude
more. Well worth the trip.

Our guides, showing WWF slides, told a more optimistic story about numbers.
They had declined to very low levels around 2011, but have bounced back
substantially. They said the small decline in the last 2 years might be normal
variation due to weather. The graphs showed random variation in population by
a factor of 2 from year-to-year going back to the 1970s, so it's probably hard
to conclude anything from a single year's count.

Still, if you live along the migration corridor, please plant milkweed and
don't use glyphosate weed killer.

~~~
KMag
Note that there are multiple species of milkweed. If you find milkweed
unappealing, look into other species. In the late 1980s/early 1990s, I found a
couple of monarch pupae on some plants in the wetlands in my back yard. The
plant stems were more stiff and the leaves less velvety than the milkweed I
was familiar with in the local park.

I asked our local nature center if Monarchs only eat milkweed, why they would
pupate on this plant. They identified the plant as
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asclepias_incarnata](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asclepias_incarnata)
, a variety of milkweed.

~~~
deadmetheny
A retaining wall in my backyard has a growth of Cynanchum laeve (honeyvine
milkweed) and English ivy - it looks rather nice, and every year I find a
handful of monarch caterpillars happily munching away at the leaves. While the
vines can spread and be very invasive if not controlled, they co-mingle with
ivy very well. I greatly appreciate them being part of my garden.

------
reneherse
I grew up next to meadows that were rarely if ever cut, in the 1980's
(Northeastern US). As a young child I'd often find Monarch caterpillars, and
was sometimes allowed to keep them in a small, strange box molded from glass
and known as a terrarium. I'd feed them milkweed until they reached the pupal
stage, then watch with wonder as the chrysalis changed from a jade-like, gold-
rimmed ornament into a transparent capsule of folded orange-black wings.
Finally, when the new insect emerged, we watched and waited (with still more
patience) for the wings to dry, leading up to release day, when the butterfly
was suddenly gone in a dash toward the sky.

Guided by my grandmother, an amateur naturalist, these were my first
experiences leading to a knowledge of change, lifecycle, and above all the
beauty to be found in the natural world. This simple gestation process of a
curious looking caterpillar is impressed on me like no other early childhood
memory. A process taking weeks, it was my first consciousness of time.

Today, those meadows are acres and acres of trimmed lawn. The smooth aesthetic
of green grass pocked with dandelion has won over the wildness of a milkweed
dotted field. But me, I've forsworn all lawn mowing, and should I ever own a
meadow, will let it go to seed.

------
gcheong
The assertion here by this activist group that the decline is due mainly to
herbicides used on GMO crops doesn't seem to hold up on closer inspection:

[https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-
science/why-p...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/why-
planting-milkweed-wont-halt-monarch-butterfly-
decline/2017/03/17/133c4134-0903-11e7-a15f-a58d4a988474_story.html?utm_term=.fe847bed9a08)

[https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2016/11/04/save-
monarch-b...](https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2016/11/04/save-monarch-
butterflies-banning-glyphosate-planting-milkweeds-wont-help/)

~~~
JshWright
In fact, herbicides are crucial in the fight against one of the major threats
facing monarchs.

The invasive Dog Strangling Vine is related to milkweed and monarchs will
mistakenly lay their eggs on it, where they fail to mature. It is a very
prolific invasive species, and is significantly outcompeting milkweed in many
areas.

------
tomkinstinch
We can help the humble Monarch butterfly by planting milkweed seeds:

[https://www.thebutterflyfarm.com/free-milkweed-
seeds-0](https://www.thebutterflyfarm.com/free-milkweed-seeds-0)

~~~
whyenot
There are many different species of milkweed. Please, only plant the species
that are native to where you live. If you are unsure what species are native
to your area, contact a local plant society, for example the California Native
Plant Society, the Oregon Native Plant Society, etc., and ask them. They would
be more than happy to help and can tell you where to buy seeds.

edit: here is what I would consider a better guide from the Xerces Society,
with links to regional seed suppliers.

[http://xerces.org/milkweed/](http://xerces.org/milkweed/)

------
post_break
Ever notice how about 15-20 years ago while driving on the highway your car
would be covered in bugs? And now hardly any.

~~~
newnewpdro
It's very disturbing. I used to drive across the country on a yearly basis
(i80) and would have to clean my windshield of bugs at many of the gas stops,
by the time I arrived the nose of the car would completely covered. Last year
I made the same trip, similar time of year as previous trips, and didn't clean
the windshield once.

Things are getting really out of wack, and I'm not looking forward to being
around for what might become the collapse of our ecosystem.

------
telesilla
If it helps, milkweed is also known as "swan plant" due to the shape and
colour of the flowers. Can help convince some gardeners to invest, if the word
"milkweed" puts them off as it sounds unpleasant.

~~~
restuijs
The native milkweed where we live is beautiful, and smells wonderful. It's
also gorgeous in winter. I'm surprised it doesn't get planted more.

------
lettucehead
it was worse before - we have at least 1 year
[http://monarchwatch.org/blog/uploads/2018/03/monarch-
populat...](http://monarchwatch.org/blog/uploads/2018/03/monarch-population-
figure-monarchwatch-2018.png)

------
ourmandave
Iowa plans to plant milkweed state wide to help the Monarch recover. All part
of a national effort.

[http://www.kcrg.com/content/news/Planting-a-billion-
milkweed...](http://www.kcrg.com/content/news/Planting-a-billion-milkweeds-
for-monarchs-476789743.html)

Almost sounds touchy-feeling, until you get to this part (of the link
above)...

"... The Endangered Species Act has tremendous impact on private land
ownership. And so we don't want to get at a point as a partner with DNR with
our other partners out there, we don't want to get to the point where there is
no choice but to do this then it becomes mandated under the endangered species
act. We'd rather have voluntary participation."

tl;dr; If the DNR shows up, we'll finally have to do something about our water
quality.

~~~
Natsu
My mom used to raise Monarch caterpillars for her elementary school class. I
remember that it was always difficult to find milkweed even back then. We had
to walk a certain hiking trail to find some and then search the plants for a
few caterpillars. I don't ever remember seeing large patches of milkweed, only
a few scattered plants with perhaps a dozen or so plants over a roughly one
mile hike.

------
modlinska
I was in Monterrey and San Luis Obispo last December and ran into the Monarchs
on their way migrating down south. It was quite a sight catching them randomly
on forest hikes:
[https://i.imgur.com/315pC3y.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/315pC3y.jpg)

------
opilionesman
Has anyone ever bothered to ask themselves that the ridiculous propagation of
the idiotic ritual killing of every terrestrial arthropod by suburbanites
throughout every municipality east of the Mississippi might actually be a
major contribution to this outcome?

~~~
umanwizard
I don't have a clue what you're talking about, but then again I'm from west of
that river. Mind elaborating?

~~~
opilionesman
Monsanto sells products to annihilate most insects to ensure monoculture
lawns. Have you not seen that throughout America?

~~~
TaylorAlexander
In California I haven’t seen much advertised in this regard. You’re saying
it’s common elsewhere?

~~~
sjg007
California has less bugs... In the midwest in most cities/suburbs you have to
maintain your lawn for the purpose of keeping the bugs and noxious weeds down.
If you don't, it's a code violation. I think the real reason is that mosquitos
like to hide in them... Find a way to keep the mosquitos at bay and maybe we
can have more natural lawns.

------
sethammons
Anecdata. I live in the same place I grew up. As a kid, the monarchs passing
through was a fun part of the season. Thousands and thousands of butterflies
over a few weeks or so. Now, we are lucky to spot a single monarch.

------
mkempe
We planted milkweed at our home, 9 years ago in Colorado, but never saw any
visiting Monarch.

~~~
HankB99
Some milkweed came up next to my garage a few years ago. I let it go and it
spread. This last summer I saw Monarchs around it a couple times. Once I
thought I saw one lay an egg and later when I checked the plant, I saw what
looked like an egg in that spot. I never saw any caterpillars. There are other
insects that also like milkweed and I saw plenty of those.

