The migration of the Western Monarch Butterfly population from California’s coast leaves a low population for the next winters in a row. According to the Xerces Society, a non-profit environmental organization released an annual count of these orange-black insects around 29,000. However, the count of the butterflies of the previous year was as low as 27,000. The number was expected to rise, but unfortunately, it didn’t. Do you want to know why? So here the major reasons why the count of Monarch butterfly depleted each year:
- The Western United States has a low number of monarch butterflies because of the destruction of the milkweed habitat and the butterflies’ migratory route.
- The increased levels of both herbicides and pesticides are another reason for the endangered number of monarch butterflies.
- The after-effect of climate change does include being one of the reasons for the depletion in the number of butterflies.
All the reasons greatly affect the spring migration cycle of nature. Apart from that, it also affects the blooming rate of the wildflowers on the migration path of the monarch butterflies.
Their migration:
- The Western monarch butterflies move each winter from south to California. They follow the same strict path and wait, not just the path; they also come to the same tree. They all cluster up to keep others warm during the chilling cold season. The monarch butterflies reach California at the very beginning of November, and they spread all across the warmer countries by March.
- The Eastern monarch butterflies’ population travels from the South of Canada and North-Eastern United States to central Mexico for spending their time during the winters. The count of the butterflies seemed to have revived; however, no true number of the butterflies got revealed by the officials of Mexico.
Several studies
Depending upon several studies by the researchers of Washington State University, the species of Monarch butterfly would extract within the next few decades, only if they are not taken proper care of!
Precautions
Monarch butterfly being in the list of the U.S. Endangered Species suggests that its conservation is now in the hands of the government of the U.S. However, it is still uncertain whether the species would be enlisted under the list of the threatened to extinction species in the world.
The preservation of the life of the monarch butterflies is quite daunting. However, many measure have been taken so far like:
- The plantation of the early blooming flowers and milkweed to fuel these butterflies on their way to other states of the world.
- New sites are being developed in the state parks of California for the protection of the butterflies.
Summing up
Start the conservation program before it is late for the monarch butterfly. Take out time and effort for your environment before it’s too late to find any alternative to solve this major life crisis. Show some efforts so that the next generation could also enjoy the sight of the migratory monarch butterflies.