June 2024 • Nebraskaland 39
he monarch butterfl y is in
trouble. Based on annual surveys
conducted at their wintering
grounds in central Mexico, the
eastern North American monarch
population has declined 80 percent
over the past 25 years. The rapid
decline has spurred the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service to consider listing the
butterfl y as an endangered species.
Complicating the situation,
evolution has painted the monarch
into a corner. They lay their eggs solely
on milkweeds and their caterpillars
eat only milkweeds, making them
dependent on the plants for survival.
In response to the monarch's decline
and research in Iowa that showed
declines in milkweed numbers, the
Midwest Association of Fish and
Wildlife Agencies in 2018 set a goal
for conservation groups to increase
milkweed numbers by 1.2 billion plants
across the monarch's Midwestern
breeding range, which includes
eastern Nebraska. Our state's portion
of the total was an intimidating 125
million.
Many conservationists, including
myself, questioned the number's
validity as it was based on limited
research and seemed rather contrived.
Nevertheless, the proclamation set
off a rush to plant greenhouse-grown
milkweed seedlings in yards, parks
and roadsides to help the monarch.
The rush, however, was somewhat
tempered when scientists began to
caution that the planting of milkweeds
alone will not save the monarch.
"'Plant milkweeds' was a two-
word solution to a complex ecological
problem," said Mercy Manzanares,
program coordinator for the
T
Monarchs that breed in the eastern U.S. and southern Canada winter in central
Mexico. Monarchs that breed west of the Rockies winter in southern California.
A monarch caterpillar feeds on a common milkweed leaf. The caterpillars outgrow
their skin and molt fi ve times during their larval stage.
