Earth in Peril

created by:

Lisa

Being Brook

created by:

Brook

Dragging Green Doors

created by:

Kristen

my speak

created by:

Tiffany
Earth in Peril

Read more of Lisa's Journal here!

Here's Lisa's latest journal entry:
April 05, 2010

The Monarch Butterfly Crisis

Have you noticed that there doesn't seem to be as many monarch butterflies around these days as in past years? It isn't your imagination. Many of our pollinating insects are facing possible extinction due to land development, habitat destruction , pesticides, Genetically modified plants, native plant loss and excess tree logging.

All butterflies are suffering because of this, but the monarch butterfly is facing the greatest loss of all . There are some really good websites online explaining why this is so, and offering ideas on how we can help.

Milkweed is basically the main diet of the monarch butterfly larvae-- and sadly, property owners see it as a "noxious weed" and will landscape these native plants right off of their property. Farmers see no value to milkweed, so they are constantly being plowed down by tractors as well.
Urban Sprawl and Land development destroys any remaining milkweed left in rural areas.

Without milkweed, the monarch butterfly larvae will not survive to maturity. There is a chemical property in milkweed that enters the monarch caterpillar's body and makes it distasteful to predatory birds. Monarch butterfly larvae only feed off of the once plentiful milkweed leaves. You can grow your own milkweed in a patch set aside in your yard- or even in a large pot ! There are websites that sell young milkweed plants and seeds to help the monarch butterfly's crisis.
My favorite site--where I will be getting my seeds, plants and future caterpillar larvae to rear is at http://www.livemonarch.com
There are other great sites you can find online as well. Just do a Google.com search for them. I like www.livemonarch.com because they use organic growing methods and are extreemly affordable. They sell butterfly larvea, live butterflies for social events and weddings, milkweed cuttings and milkweed seeds. They even send free seed packets and ask for a $3.00 donation.

Places like this are something the ordinary person should look into so we can all do our part to help these magical insects survive the present turmoil they are facing at present.


Another reason for the Monarch buttefly's recent decline is illegal logging going on in the area of Mexico where the monarch butterfly migrate for Winter refuge. They need a certain amount of evergreen trees to buffer them from the cool temperatures even Mexico faces during their roosting months. They had those trees for centuries until 2-3 years ago. The trees are being destroyed there as the bad economy is inspiring villagers to illegally chop down government protected trees for fuel. Those who try to alert the authorities receive death threats.

With the loss of so many established trees in Mexico and this January's freak icestorm there, about 50% of the already lagging monarch population died . It will be a miracle if we even see even one monarch butterfly flying about this Summer, so we really do need to do our part pro-actively by growing milkweed and butterfly friendly plants for these insects or our grandchildren will only experience them in photographs and coloring books.

Journal
Often times, it takes just one person to inspire many to move to action. The iConservePA journals provide food for thought on how we can all be better stewards of our natural resources. Each journal, or blog, is a glimpse into one person’s life -- their perspective on conservation. We hope the journals will fill you with ideas and inspire you to take steps to protect and enjoy Pennsylvania’s natural resources.
 

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