Butterfly

Monarch Butterfly
Current Status: Endangered
WWF Article

Why They Matter

Monarch butterflies exhibit the most highly evolved migration pattern of any known species of butterfly or moth and perhaps any known insect. Fewer butterflies up north results in fewer migrating south to Mexico for the winter. Monarchs need mountain forests in Mexico for their winter habitat, though nearby human communities rely on them as well, creating pressure on forests through agriculture and tourism activities.

Threats

Climate change poses a disruption during the monarch's annual migration pattern, as it not only affects weather conditions in wintering grounds, but summer breeding grounds as well. In result, colder, wetter winters which can be lethal, and hotter, drier summers could shift suitable habitats north. Abnormal patterns of drought and rainfall in the U.S. and Canada breeding sites may have caused adult butterfly deaths as well as less plant food for caterpillars. Herbicide use in the U.S. is decreasing the availability of their primary food source, the milkweed plant.