Monarch butterflies drop, migration may disappear

[hue]

Source: U-T San Diego

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The number of Monarch butterflies wintering in Mexico plunged this year to its lowest level since studies began in 1993, leading experts to announce Wednesday that the insects' annual migration from the United States and Canada is in danger of disappearing.

A report released by the World Wildlife Fund, Mexico's Environment Department and the Natural Protected Areas Commission blames the displacement of the milkweed the species feeds on by genetically modified crops and urban sprawl in the United States, as well as the dramatic reduction of the butterflies' habitat in Mexico due to illegal logging of the trees they depend on for shelter.

After steep and steady declines in the previous three years, the black-and-orange butterflies now cover only 1.65 acres (0.67 hectares) in the pine and fir forests west of Mexico City, compared to 2.93 acres (1.19 hectares) last year. They covered more than 44.5 acres (18 hectares) at their recorded peak in 1995.

Read more: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jan/29/monarch-butterflies-drop-migration-may-disappear/

---

[bananas]

1. "The main culprit is now GMO herbicide-resistant corn and soybean crops and herbicides in the USA,"

"The main culprit is now GMO herbicide-resistant corn and soybean crops and herbicides in the USA," which "leads to the wholesale killing of the monarch's principal food plant, common milkweed," Brower wrote in an email.

[Berlum]

21. + 1,000

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

2. We're destroying the planet and few people seem to care

Urban sprawl and deforestation mentioned in the article as the reasons for the gradual disappearance of the butterfly make me want to vomit. I wish we could at least go back to 1890 population levels, when we had one-fourth the number of people we have today.

[villager]

4. If humans insist on not paying attention, we'll be going back to those population levels soon enough

In a rather harsh way, I'm afraid.

[Distant Quasar]

8. Sleepwalking to the apocalypse

The fact that the environment figured so marginally in the SOTU last night just highlights the delusions that are killing us.

[villager]

9. Exactly. This Presidency is in as much denial -- certainly in its public face -- as everyone else.

Alas.

[Distant Quasar]

10. What bothers me is that people who should know better

insist on pretending that "the environment" is somehow a separate issue from the economy or national security. Without a stable, healthy environment, we can't have an economy - free market or otherwise. We won't have security, either, in any meaningful sense of the word. I wish there were some way of getting this into people's heads. But it seems to be impossible.

[villager]

12. I find that grimly hilarious myself. On what other planet will your "jobs" appear...

... once we've trashed this one?

[ladjf]

26. Humans are too greedy and dumb to survive. We are a killing machine that has infested the Earth.

[flamin lib]

3. I witnessed the migration back in the '70s in central Texas.

They were clinging to trees resting. There were so many that they were breaking 2-3 inch branches. It was truly a mystical experience.

This news makes me cry . . .

[Owl]

5. Dang! I have milkweed in my yard that attracts them. Time to propagate it to larger quantities.

Maybe it will help a teeny bit.

[Distant Quasar]

6. One more canary in the coal mine

Am I just paying closer attention, or has there been a surge of stories like this one just in the past few years? Bats dying off... Bees dying off... Massive die-offs of trees out West... I can barely stand it.

[Botany]

7. I was in a monarch migration about 20 years ago in a prairie remnant in OH

Thousands and thousands of them in a little area. Smith Prairie in Madison County, OH



Everbody should get and read this book.

[catchnrelease]

15. I have it!

And am doing my best to attract them. Milkweed for the Monarchs and all CA native plants in the front yard. Fruit trees, berry vines and wildflowers in the back. Even though we just have a small suburban lot, it all helps. I love all of the pollinators-native bees and flies, honeybees, butterflies and moths--all of them are so interesting and necessary. It breaks my heart to hear stories like this. Just yesterday I read that in Australia the honeybees are not even able to make honey due to the extreme heat. (The heat causes the Eucalyptus trees and others to stop producing pollen, causes the comb wax to melt and evaporates water sources the bees need to take back to the hive for cooling the colony.)

Two other good books are the Pollinator Conservation Handbook, also from The Xerces Society and Bringing Nature Home by Douglas W Tallamy.

[Botany]

16. I am reading Doug Tallamy's book right now.

I was supposed to go see him speak in Wisconsin last weekend but I had to
stay and work in OH.

[catchnrelease]

17. Oh that's a shame

I'm sure it would have been really amazing to hear him speak.

[hue]

11. Link to Monarch Watch...

http://monarchwatch.org/blog/2014/01/monarch-population-status-20/

[question everything]

13. "You blew it"

is the only reaction that comes to mind

[W.J. McCabe]

14. Humanity: The Ultimate Invasive Species

[magical thyme]

18. When I moved to my minifarm 10 years ago, I used to get them

I still have plenty of milkweed. Haven't seen a single monarch -- barely any butterflies to be honest -- for a few years now.

[Harriety]

19. If you are going to plant milkweeds or other plants to attract pollinators

then be sure that you get them from a supplier that does not use harmful pesticides. Last year, after I planted a few milkweeds around my yard I was drawn to an article that said some sellers sold plants with killer insecticides on them, and that was in turn going to do more damage to the insects than not planting them at all. Bee careful!

[heaven05]

20. we're killing everything

slowly, even ourselves.

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

23. Harvest wild first.

Find a field of a good quality milkweed, away from too much traffic, sunny in the morning, more shaded towards the afternoon. Break a stem, observe how much milk comes forth. More and flowing freely, best.

You can transplant the young shoots coming early in spring or wait till the fall and plant the seeds from the pods. I suggest the early shoots. Be prepared to dig deep. The root grows almost straight down.

I have been sustainably growing wild milkweed for a few years. It is a great veggie crop. The shoots, stems, while younger tastes like a very good green bean. The pods picked at the perfect time, steamed till tender, are amazing. We use milkweed as a main veggie source in the spring and early summer.

Picking and transplanting, we have grown a mere patch of milkweed, approximately 100' x 500' to about an acre in three years. We are working on other patches and gaining more supporters each season. We grow on state land in a state park (Michigan) with their permission and good graces.

[SouthernDonkey]

27. A quick google

Shows that milkweed can be toxic if not used carefully.

[Judi Lynn]

29. Thanks for some illumination. The info. could help.

Last edited Wed Jan 29, 2014, 10:24 PM - Edit history (1)

[center][/center]

[ffr]

22. Who needs these pollinating pests anyway!

Damn those bees too!

Besides, those trees they felled were needed for more important things and it's only one species we're killing off.

[hedgehog]

24. My property includes a half mile power line right-of-way -

my husband mows it as a farm road so we can get to the back of our woods. In effect, it's a half mile meadow bordered with milkweed and other plants. (Did you know there are multiple types of milkweed? we have several different colors!)


Every fall, I'm used to seeing monarch butterflies stopping by on their way south.

This year, NOT A SINGLE ONE!

[lark]

25. I am devastsated!

Oct. at Andrew Molera park was one of the most magical times in my life. In the depths of the eucalyptus woods, the air was fluttering orange and black, almost psychedelic. They totally coated the leaves of the trees, you could only see green when the wind stirred the leaf and some of them would move off. My friend and I lucked into this, there was nobody but us in the woods, everyone else was at the beach. When we stood really still, the buttlerflies would alight on us. That was back in 1990. I'm so sad that these beauties are dying out. I've always wanted to go there again with my kids and let them share the magic of the monarchs.

[mike_c]

28. the best thing anyone can do for both the eastern and western populations...

...is to plant milkweeds. The two main threats to monarchs are loss of breeding habitat and overwintering mortality, which is especially bad for the eastern population that overwinters in central Mexico. Winter storms, illegal logging, and bark beetle outbreaks have caused significant mortality in overwintering populations.

[bananas]

33. Maybe something like this could be set up?

The Nature Conservancy used the vast data set on bird spring arrival dates and locations compiled through the popular birdwatcher app, eBird to pinpoint when and where wetland habitat needed to be created. The Conservancy then asked rice farmers along the flyway to submit bids on how much it would cost to keep their fields flooded for a few extra weeks — essentially renting out habitat for birds at around $45 an acre.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/101683841

[mike_c]

36. check out monarch watch....

Here: http://monarchwatch.org/

[The Stranger]

30. Their name seems so appropos.

Monarchs.

Good bye, little friends.

I'm so sorry we couldn't save you.

[hatrack]

31. Look! Over there! Duck Dynasty! Chris Christie! Kardashians! Super Bowl!

Warglebarglegargle.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

32. Were so screwed.

The factions who govern us, supported by a global idiocracy can't even agree on how to rearrange the deckchairs.

[CountAllVotes]

34. How sad

Years ago I remember my late father looking at some Monach butterflies and he said, "These used to be all over the place. Now there are so few of them."

Dad died over 15 years ago. This news would break his heart and mine hurts enough already.

[sendero]

35. So sad..

.... I remember when I was a teen in the 60s and riding my motorcycle on an aimless trip. I turned off the freeway onto a small highway that headed southwest towards the tiny towns south of Fort Worth. After riding 20 miles or so I saw a monarch. Then another, and then they were everywhere. They seemed to float on the air, they were so graceful. I still remember the euphoria that swept over me seeing this loose swarm of one of natures' most beautiful creatures drifting southward.

I've seen a few since then but will undoubtedly never see anything like that again.