Monarch butterflies—find out more about these amazing pollinators! ~ Bette A. Stevens, Maine author/illustrator and advocate for Monarch butterflies http://www.4writersandreaders.com
A Monarch butterfly caterpillar feeding on the leaves of a milkweed plant. Photographed at the Grapevine Botanical Gardens. Photo © TexasEagle/Flickr through a Creative Commons license, via TNC
We’ve covered monarch butterflies plenty of times in the past, whether it was reporting survey results showing that many households in the US would pay to help create habitat for the species, showcasing a citizen science project by the Xerces Society to count the winged invertebrates during their migration, or simply highlighting the needs of the orange butterfly in general and how to become involved. Now, given increased media coverage of the Monarch, the Cool Green Science blog for The Nature Conservancy is summarizing hazards and helpers of the species:
Twenty years ago, monarch butterflies occupied so much area in Mexico during the winter you could see it from space. It totaled about 20 hectares, or almost 50 acres, with…
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Bette A. Stevens, Maine Author 
Comments on: "Threats to Monarch Butterflies and How We Can Help" (12)
How dreadful it would be if the monarchs were to become extinct. I’m pleased that the article says that is unlikely, but it is disappointing that their numbers are deceasing so much. Their migration from Canada to Mexico is inspirational. We have monarchs here in Australia too. I think they are an amazing butterfly, stunning at each life stage. We used to have them in our classroom for the children to watch the life stages. When administrators realised that the milkweed is poisonous we had to get other butterflies. That is okay. We had native Australian butterflies to watch. They are also beautiful. Sadly many of our butterflies are threatened also, and there have been planting programs to encourage their return. I love to have flowering natives in my garden to encourage the butterflies, other insects and birds. They are essential to a healthy ecosystem. Thank you for sharing this information.
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Hi, Norah. Thanks so much for supporting the cause of our amazing monarch butterflies and their cousins as well as other magnificent pollinators. They need us and we need them. Happy gardening and pollinator watching. Hugs! ❤
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I don’t care how many times we cover it; we need to keep doing it until lots and lots of people become aware about the threat to the monarchs and what they can do to help! So you go girl! I will be sharing this. Love, N
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Oh, Natalie, thanks so much for sharing the love. We’ll just have to keep shouting out for our amazing monarchs. After all, our Bald Eagles have been saved thanks to Rachel Carson’s revelation in Silent Spring. Now it’s our turn. Hugs! ❤
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Absolutely! 👍❤️😊
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Thanks for posting, Bette. I plant flowers that attract butterflies whenever I can.
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Awesome, Michelle! Thanks. 🙂
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Thanks for sharing this Bette. It sounds like the Monarchs will survive man, but the large migrations may be a thing of the past. Perhaps if we start taking care of the planet, those migrations will happen again in the future.
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As we become more aware of these magnificent migrating pollinators and their plight, hopefully we can all lend a hand in their recovery. I’ll just keep spreading the word and planting milkweed. Have a wonderful week! 🙂
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This seems to be a continual, depressing pattern around the world. My memory of my grandmother’s garden in summer was that it was full of butterflies, to the extent that I took them for granted… These days, despite growing butterfly-friendly plants, I always regard seeing one as something of an event:(.
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Butterflies are magical… I’m still amazed at the sight of one or more! The more the better. Only spotted half a dozen in our garden this year, but managed to capture a couple of monarchs on camera. Hoping for lots of garden magic this coming summer. Blessings! 🙂
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And to you:). I totally agree about the butterflies!
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