With society’s ever-increasing focus on themselves, the world around them soon disappears. The lasting impact of human actions can reach far beyond one’s eyes, particularly in the world of biodiversity. Monarch butterflies, among other pollinators, play a crucial role in sustaining Earth’s ecosystems, and preserving these pollinators is vital to not only the diversity of plant life, but of life as we know it.
“We have so many different plants that rely on pollinators like butterflies and other insects so that we’re able to produce fruit and food,” master naturalist Amanda Templer said.
Every year, monarchs make an incredible journey by migrating from the U.S. all the way to Mexico. What’s fascinating is that none of the migrating butterflies have ever done it before, but somehow they still know exactly where to go, ending up in the same groves as their ancestors generations before. When they come back from Mexico in March, monarchs begin to lay their eggs on a specific plant, milkweed.
“They are unique because the only plant that the larva is able to eat is milkweed,” Templer said. “So if we don’t have any milkweed, we’re not going to have any monarchs.”
Monarch populations have seen a decline in recent years, often attributed to the US, where amounts of milkweed have significantly decreased. However, the population decrease is also due to habitat loss in Mexico, where monarchs spend the winter. Monarchs prefer oak trees, but the logging industry has quickly boomed over the last few years, leaving incoming monarchs without a place to live during their long migration and an uncertain survival of the journey. While it may be impossible for individuals to grow a forest in one season, there are some small things that can be done even within peoples’ own backyards to prevent further population decline.
“Number one, let’s stop using pesticides in our yard,” Templer said. “We have mosquitoes, and we don’t like them, but when we spray our yards because we don’t want those mosquitoes, we’re also affecting all of the other insect populations, including the monarch and other butterflies.”
People looking to preserve monarchs and other pollinators have many options that they can do, such as avoiding pesticide use, planting milkweed and other flowers and educating themselves more.
“Be an activist and advocate for the help of our environment, because we’re going to not only help the pollinators and the monarchs, we’re going to help ourselves too,” Templer said.
Ultimately, the best thing one can do in the coming month is to plant milkweed in their backyard, where monarchs will come to lay their larvae for the next generation.
“If we’re gonna plant some things, we’re gonna plant some milkweed and we’re gonna plant some oak trees,” Templer said.
It’s really that simple. Missouri offers many different native milkweed species, and any of them will work for monarchs as they return in the coming weeks. Beyond that, there are multitudes of different programs and movements to get involved in. When it comes to conservation, even the smallest contribution makes a difference.
“We as a society don’t prioritize protecting natural species because it doesn’t fit our selfish needs,” master gardener Ashley Seiss said. “My hope is that people start doing more, planting more and caring more.”
