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MONROE OUTDOORS by Terry W. Johnson
m
Reporter
June 15, 2022
Beautiful monarchs need all the help they can get
TERRY W. JOHNSON
S ince the 1990s the
population of the
Eastern monarch
has been spiraling
downward. One of the
most glaring examples of
this precipitous decline is
the fact the
numbers of
monarchs
that winter
in Mexico
declined
by some
80 percent
between the
1990s and
the 2010s.
Estimates
indicate that
as many
as one billion monarchs
graced our skies as recently
as 1996. Tierra Curry, a se
nior scientist at the Center
of Biological Diversity, best
expressed this loss in terms
we can all understand.
Curry wrote, “The 90 per
cent drop in the monarchs
population is a loss so
staggering that in human-
population terms it would
be like losing every living
person in the United States
except those in Florida and
Ohio.”
Unfortunately things
got worse. In 2018 the
monarch population
spiraled downward so far
monarch experts were
forced to revise monarch
losses to be in excess of 99
percent compared to the
1980s. Clearly the mon
arch teeters on the brink of
extinction.
A recent news release
out of Mexico reported
that last fall 35 percent
more monarchs arrived
in the butterfly’s winter
ing grounds high in the
forested mountains (almost
two miles above sea level)
east of Mexico City than
the previous year. This
seemingly inconsequential
release has brought a glim
mer of hope that perhaps
monarch conservation
measures enacted over the
past few decades are begin
ning to pay off.
This estimate is
not based on the
actual numbers
of monarchs
counted on
their wintering
grounds. Such
a task would be
next to impos
sible. This is
because the black
and orange but
terflies form giant
clusters that literally blan
ket the cedar, pine and fir
trees they prefer to use as
their winter roosting sites.
Instead, lepidopterists
measure the size of the
areas occupied by the
monarchs. According to
Mexico’s Commission for
National Protected Areas,
this past winter the winter
ing population of monarch
was spread across seven
acres. Last year the mon
archs were confined to only
5.2 acres.
Monarchs traditionally
begin showing up at their
Mexican winter home in
November and embark
for the summer breeding
grounds in March. How
ever, according to Gloria
Tavera, regional direc
tor of the Protected Aras
Commission, “Last year
was unusual, because the
monarchs began leaving
in February; that allowed
them to get out before
drought and heat hit just
north of the border in April
and May’
Oddly, in 2022 the mon
archs lingered longer south
of the border. According to
Tavera, “They left very late.
We still had butterflies in
April.”
Tavera went on to say,
“They are beginning to
adapt to extreme climate
conditions.”
Her sentiments are being
echoed by other monarch
experts.They are of the
opinion that the varying
dates monarchs depart
Mexico may reflect their
actions are enabling them
to deal with the increasing
frequency and severity of
drought and heat.
Tavera added, “It remains
to be seen in next year’s fig
ures whether that strategy
worked for them.”
In 1995 The United States
Department of the Inte
rior launched an initiative
aimed at saving the mon
arch butterfly from extinc
tion. In an effort to jump
start the initiative the US-
FWS allocated $2 million
dollars to fund monarch
conservation efforts.
One of the key compo
nents of this multifaceted
effort is the promotion of
the creation and restora
tion of native milkweeds.
These plants serve as the
host plant for the mon
arch. Without milkweeds
the monarch cannot
reproduce. It is as simple
as that. Many conservation
organizations and millions
of Americans have re
sponded to the plea and are
doing their part to restore
monarch breeding habitat.
Since the initiative was
launched, researchers at the
University of Georgia and
elsewhere have discovered
that, in addition to pro
viding breeding habitat,
there is also a dire need to
provide these long-distance
migrants with nectar. The
nectar is the sweet fuel that
An Eastern monarch butterfly gathers nectar. This sight is becoming
rare as the monarch population dwindles. (Photo/Terry Johnson)
enables them to migrate to
their Mexican wintering
grounds. Unfortunately,
the fall-blooming wildflow-
ers that supply this essential
fuel are becoming more
difficult for the migrants to
find.
These findings have
resulted in revising the
recovery plan to include
creating and restoring wild
stands of fall-blooming
nectar plants. Some of the
plants that grow in Monroe
County are joe pye weed,
blazing star, Georgia mint,
ironweed, asters, baccharis,
goldenrod, false boneset,
mistflower and sneeze-
weed.
The list of ornamentals
that are also super sources
of nectar at this time of the
year are Mexican sunflow
er, Miss Huff lantana, and
butterfly bush.
We cannot personally ad
dress some of the problems
plaguing the monarch,
such as, illegal logging
in the wintering area,
the planting of avocado
orchards, disease, drought,
climate change and the ac
tivity of drug cartels in the
high mountain forests used
by monarchs. How
ever, we can plant fall
nectar plants in our
gardens, reduce our
use of pesticide and
herbicides and en
courage late season
nectar plants in our
fields and elsewhere.
The survival of the
monarch depends on
the efforts of many
folks living in many
places. Let’s not let
the glimmer of hope
reported this year
fade away.
Terry Johnson of
Forsyth is retired
Program Man
ager of the Georgia
Nongame-Endangered
Wildlife Program.
He has written the
informative column
Monroe Outdoors’
for the Reporter for many
years. His book, “A Journey
to Discovery,” is available at
The Reporter. Email him at
tjwoodduck@bellsouth. net.
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