Amazing migration of endangered Monarchs

[orthoclad]

I read the recent thread about the remarkable migrations of birds, such as the bar-tailed godwits, which "... often fly nonstop from Alaska to New Zealand."
at https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016331079

My favorite migrator, though, is the Monarch butterfly. In the Spring, they fly north from their winter grounds, mainly in Mexico and California, and spread across North America. They breed several generations as they spread north. At the end of Summer, the last generation flies all they way back to their winter ground. Think of it: a mass of butterflies several generations removed from the generation which flew north knows when to start off on a journey of thousands of miles, and knows exactly where to go to survive the winter cold. Birds have older generations which have made the trip and may rely on the elders to guide migrations. But in the case of Monarchs, no butterfly which flew north ever flies south again.

The bright, distinctive orange and black colors of the Monarch are a warning to predators: they're toxic. This is because the food of the caterpillar is various milkweeds, which are toxic.

The Monarch is now on the endangered species list. When I was a child, they were one of the commonest butterflies; they could be seen almost everywhere. As of 2022, they are now officially endangered. From wikipedia, "In February 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported a study that showed that nearly a billion monarchs had vanished from the butterfly's overwintering sites since 1990." The overwintering sites have been damaged by illegal logging and habitat destruction. One of the main culprits in the threatened extinction of Monarchs is the widespread adoption of Roundup for weed control. GMO crops are modified to tolerate the glyphosate in Roundup, so huge quantities of Roundup are now sprayed everywhere in farms and homes, and milkweed is disappearing. The decline in Monarchs is correlated with the volume of herbicides. Indirectly, GMO crops are extinguishing the Monarch.

I encourage plants which are helpful to Monarchs. Milkweed, often considered a nuisance weed, can be grown from seeds or transplanted roots in out-of-the-way places. I used to see it commonly in waste lots, railroad right-of-ways, and even edges of urban lots. Milkweed species are native to most parts of the US, and they will feed Monarch caterpillars. Any nectar-rich flower will feed the butterflies; the wikipedia article lists many, but my favorite of late has been the Mexican Torch (also called Mexican Sunflower). A large showy plant, it hits peak bloom in late Summer and Fall, in time for the migration. It must be nectar-rich; I saw a hummingbird and a butterfly fight over a choice bloom last week. Monarchs love this flower; I took a pic a few years ago that had 14 Monarchs in the frame. The downside: it is not native to northern parts of the US, and can become invasive since it self-seeds prolifically. I keep it surrounded by lawn and I deadhead the flowers to reduce seeding. Monarchs won't return to their former glory pre-Roundup, but if they can find nectar and milkweed across North America and have their overwintering habitat, they will survive.

We owe survival to a species which somehow knows how to find a winter ground it has never seen before, and flies thousands of miles to find that place in the Sun.



Wikis:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarch_butterfly
(this article shows a Monarch on a Mexican Torch aka sunflower in Ames, Iowa)
Long article with many references

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tithonia_rotundifolia
Mexican Torch/Sunflower (also shows the Monarch)
I suspect that Monarchs co-evolved with this plant, since I've observed them fly in from a distance to tap them. Monarchs have true color vision and can identify the bright orange flowers.
I'm strongly against planting invasive species, but in my garden the benefit of this plant to wildlife is high, and it will likely migrate North anyway with climate change. But that topic's worth a whole other thread.

[Bayard]

1. No Monarchs in our flower garden this year

So disappointing. We usually see several. Have both milkweed and butterfly weed planted, but they always liked the zinias.

Another one of those species that, when you're a kid, there's so many and you think there always will be.

[orthoclad]

3. They're scarcer indeed

I didn't see many until I planted the Mex Torch flower. We have zinnia, marigold, black-eyed susan, veg flowers, and I always see them (and hummingbirds) on the mex torch. Note my caution on its invasive potential.

It's hard to grasp that something that was once so abundant is now endangered. Think passenger pigeon.

[Donkees]

5. They love agastache (anise hyssop) 🦋

Monarch Butterflies in Battery Park NYC September 21st 2021
The purple flower name is called Anise hyssop; the Latin name is Agastache.
Special thanks to The Battery Park Conservancy.

[orthoclad]

6. Thanks

Native plant in much of NA. Edible perennial, mint family. I tend to plant mints in a container; they can really spread. Medicinal, too: "Anise hyssop was used medicinally by Native Americans for cough, fevers, wounds, diarrhea[citation needed]. The soft, anise-scented leaves[6] are used as a seasoning, as a tea, in potpourri, and can be crumbled in salad. " (wiki)

[Donkees]

7. These don't spread by runners or rhisomes...

The hybrid variety I have doesn't self-seed either. The clumps can be divided, but I've had them for years and they haven't yet taken over the planting area. They are full of pollinators daily.

[NNadir]

2. I'm not sure I've even seen one this year in New Jersey. We have huge fields of milkweed...

around here too.

When my kids were small, a NJ park ranger taught us how to look for eggs. We collected them as he advised were able to raise some larvae with fresh milkweed leaves and release them Monarchs when they molted.

I think the extreme heat over the continent has had a lot to do with it, besides habitat destruction in Mexico and the US.

It's a real tragedy I think.

[orthoclad]

4. Heat and

associated wildfires and droughts certainly beat up the biome.

It's a tragedy we can ameliorate somewhat with habitat patches providing milkweed + nectar. Good for pollinators and hummingbirds, too. Maybe we can keep the Monarch genome. A genome which has this migration baked in, in the chemical code of DNA, which to me is mind-blowing.

I think of my garden as a fueling station for the southward migration.

My favorite gong to beat is "slow the rate of change and buy time to adapt". There's no guarantee that that works, but the alternative of doing nothing certainly doesn't work.