Vanishing Royalty: Monarchs and Milkweed
One of America’s most iconic pollinators is disappearing, and fast.
Did you know that monarch caterpillars only eat milkweed? One of the reasons for the monarchs’ decline is the quick disappearance of this native species from rural areas in the Midwest, according to National Geographic.
However, in my area outside of Boulder, Colorado, there is plenty of milkweed — in fields, along bike paths, in ditches and next to reservoirs.
So, I thought that finding caterpillars, and fully-fledged adult monarchs, should be no problem.
I was wrong.
After weeks of hunting through milkweed, at last I spied one caterpillar, clinging to the underside of a large leaf.
I don’t know if there is a way to tell a caterpillar’s sex, but for the fun of it, I call him Harry. (Also refers to the two antennae-like filaments on his head and back end. In fact, as is the point of all good camouflage, it was hard at first to tell which end was which.)
I’m glad I spent some time with Harry, because when I went back a day or two later, he was nowhere to be found. Either he became a bird snack, or he created his chrysalis where I couldn’t see it.
This is a small incident. Not all that significant to real life, right?
Just the opposite.
Monarch populations have steeply declined over most of North America, up to 99%. Insignificant though this seems, monarchs are an important pollinator for many native plants and food crops. At least every third bite of food on our tables exists thanks to pollinators. Now most of them are in decline, including the honeybee, native bees, and butterflies like the monarch. Monarchs are also considered an indicator species, sort of a “canary in the coal mine” that indicates the overall health of the ecosystem.
In that case, we’re in trouble.
North America has two species of monarch. Eastern monarchs, found in the Midwest and eastern US, migrate vast distances to overwinter in central Mexico, and the western monarch makes its journey to forests in California. The Mexican sites have seen decreases of up to 80% in recent years, and up to 99% in California. The western monarch is in particular danger, as their numbers plummeted 86% during the winter of 2018–2019.
Though milkweed is one of the most important factors for restoring monarch population, the species faces other threats as well. Both the Mexican and Californian overwintering grounds still experience deforestation, and agriculture’s ever-growing use of pesticides affect far more than just pests. In fact, new research is revealing an “insect apocalypse” in full swing, fueled by neonicotinoid pesticides.
My search focused on native milkweeds growing wild, but there are many different kinds you can plant to help monarchs in your area. Their flowers range from white to pink to orange, and they can thrive in climates from cool and wet to deserts. You can also look for other pollinator-friendly plants to provide food for migrating adults. Make sure to buy seeds and nursery plants that have not been sprayed with neonics, since these chemicals both remain in the plant as it grows and wash into the soil where they contaminate groundwater.
If you wish to get hands-on with monarch conservation, check out the Monarch and Milkweed Mapper to participate in their citizen science program. In addition, if you live along the central California coast, you could be a part of the Western Monarch Count, which happens every year from November to January. This year, from November 16th through December 8th, and from December 28 through January 12th, volunteers record information from sites at Ellwood Mesa, Pismo Beach, Pacific Grove, Natural Bridges, Moran Lake, and Lighthouse Field. You can find more information and join the project here.
In editing these photos and looking into the beady, almost alien eyes of this tiny, strange creature I shared a moment with, I felt sadness. Not only for his very brief life, but for all that is now slipping away. We take so much beauty in our world for granted, and assume that the butterflies we chased as children will still be there for the next generation. As much as I want this to be true, we can no longer assume. If even the magnificence of rhinos and elephants isn’t safe, how can we assure the existence of a fragile butterfly, especially one that must travel across a continent?
Maybe we can’t guarantee anything, but we can plant milkweed.
