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Monarch’s Last Stand

July 23, 2022 By Jim 3 Comments

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The monarch butterfly, the North American icon, now faces the threat of extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, a top wildlife monitoring group which has put the butterfly species on it’s Red List.

Thursday’s decision by the IUCN to declare the species endangered comes as the result of roundup ready corn and soybean that have eliminated the monarch’s caterpillar milkweed host plants from our agricultural fields, habitat destruction in it’s winter homes in Mexico and California and severe weather events and increasing temperatures caused by climate change.

Simple prairie planting already bringing in Monarchs

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which helps implement the Endangered Species Act, meanwhile, has listed the monarch as a candidate for inclusion on its list of endangered and threatened wildlife since December 2020.

However with the recent Supreme Court’s decision in West Virginia v. EPA, don’t expect any meaningful new protections from the US government. While that ruling was specifically about climate regulations, its “legal rationale” undercuts the entire Endangered Species Act implementation.

So what can you do to help this once common flying flower?

One is to plant milkweed for the caterpillars to eat, but it’s also important to plant good nectar resources for the adult butterflies. In my garden there is currently swamp milkweed, prairie milkweed, and butterfly weed.

Good nectar sources include native plants such as Cone flower, Black eye Susan, Bee Balm, Asters and Goldenrod.

Monarch Garden
Where’s Waldo? Can you spot the Prairie Milkweed and Butterfly weed Monarch host plants that are both blooming in this photo. They are surrounded by numerous nectar plants for the adult butterfly.

Mass plantings of nectar plants such as these cone flower that I planted last year after growing them from seed can be very beneficial if you don’t care for the intermingled (my fancy word for messy) look of the last garden.

Mass Planting of Coneflower
Mass Planting of cone flowers can be very beneficial to all types of pollinators including Monarch butterflies. The elderberry in the background is a favorite of birds.

More Help for you to Help

For More information on how you can help the Monarchs, including regionally specific plant recommendations see Xerces Society Monarch Page

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Filed Under: Supports Wildlife & Biodiversity

Comments

  1. Rebekah says

    August 9, 2022 at 7:10 pm

    I love your garden! Not messy at all. I grow all these plants, and am thrilled with the number of bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds we get. However, in your second photo, what is the plant with the red flowers? I think you’ve got anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) alongside it, along with coneflower (Echinacea sp.) and milkweed (Asclepias sp.) – but I can’t figure out the red flowers. A mallow?

    Reply
    • Jim says

      August 12, 2022 at 1:31 pm

      Royal Catchfly

      Reply
  2. Martha Intrieri says

    July 23, 2022 at 7:42 pm

    Such terrible news; however, I am encouraged by the photos of your garden full of sustenance for butterflies, bees, and birds. Thank you.

    Reply

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