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Jul 21, 2022 · The monarch butterfly fluttered a step closer to extinction Thursday, as scientists put the iconic orange-and-black insect on the endangered list because of its fast dwindling numbers.
Jul 21, 2022 · Now, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature has added the migrating monarch butterfly for the first time to its "red list" of threatened species and categorized it as...
Jul 21, 2022 · The migratory monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus plexippus) has entered the IUCN Red List as Endangered. The IUCN Red List now includes 147,517 species, of which 41,459 are threatened with extinction.
- Overview
- Too far, or not far enough?
- Scientific consensus
- Monarch mania may have a downside
Data showing the migratory monarch's decline were too precautionary, prompting the IUCN to change its status from endangered to vulnerable.
Just last year, the International Union for Conservation of Nature declared the migratory monarch butterfly endangered, a decision that made headlines around the world. On September 27, with little fanfare, the organization downlisted the subspecies as vulnerable to extinction, a level lower on the risk-rating system.
The reason? Models showing the insect’s demise were likely too cautious, and its numbers are falling more slowly than thought, according to the IUCN.
To be clear, most of the large, orange-and-black butterflies known as Danaus plexippus are doing just fine. This is why people in many parts of North America still see the charismatic insects fluttering about their backyards and gardens.
However, in recent decades scientists have become concerned about the migratory monarch, Danaus plexippus ssp. plexippus, a subspecies which undertakes an incredible, 3,000-mile, multi-generational migration each year from breeding grounds in Canada and the United States to wintering grounds in Mexico. (Related: “Monarch butterflies migrate 3,000 miles—here's how”)
According to previous estimates, the eastern population of migratory monarchs has declined by as much as 84 percent between 1996 and 2014. Worse still is the fate of the western migratory monarchs, whose population dropped from around 10 million insects in the 1980s to just 1,914 in 2021—a loss of about 99.9 percent of the population, according to the IUCN.
Yet Davis and others think that even a vulnerable listing is too extreme, and that the subspecies should be reclassified as “least concern,” the category of the lowest extinction risk.
“It didn’t go far enough, in my mind,” says Davis.
In his 2022 study, Davis and colleagues’ continent-wide study of migratory monarchs found some regions of the country where there’s been some local declines, some regions where there’s been increases, and regions where there’s been no change.
“But if you add them all up, we found no long-term overall decline in the population during the summer, which tells me that regardless of how many monarchs there are in the winter colonies, they bounce back every spring.” (Learn more about how climate change may impact monarchs.)
Even so, numerous scientists contacted about the 2022 research urged caution about the results. For one, while data sourced from citizen scientists are extremely valuable, the approach is not always consistent.
There’s “always uncertainty" in using citizen science data to draw conclusions about such a complex and wide-ranging species, Kathleen Prudic, a wildlife biologist at the University of Arizona, said at the time.
While the IUCN’s decision carries much weight within the scientific community, the group does not possess any lawmaking power. Ultimately, it remains up to the monarch’s host countries—Canada, the United States, and Mexico—to determine what, if anything, to do with the finding.
For instance, in 2020, the United States decided that the migratory monarchs qualified for legal protections under the Endangered Species Act, but that such a listing was precluded by species deemed to be of higher priority. It plans to revisit the migratory monarch’s status in 2024. (Read more: “Monarch butterflies denied endangered species listing despite shocking decline.”)
“I think, in the end, [the IUCN decision to downlist to vulnerable] wasn’t a major change,” says Emma Pelton, senior conservation biologist with the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, one of the groups which initially petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the migratory monarch as endangered in 2014.
In fact, Pelton says the IUCN and USFWS’ decisions so far on monarchs suggests a scientific consensus.
While Davis disagrees with many about the migratory monarch’s situation, he cares deeply about trying to help the butterflies. In fact, he believes a narrative of victimization is now doing the species harm.
The endangered listing, he says, “led to this growth of a sort of dangerous activity by regular folks, where people heard the monarchs were endangered, and so they kind of took it upon themselves to try to fix that by bringing monarchs into their kitchens.”
For instance, well-meaning people have bought monarch-rearing kits online and even taken monarch butterfly chrysalises out of the wild to rear indoors.
Rather than boosting the population, Davis says such practices can spread parasites to wild monarchs and produce individuals that have lost the ability to properly navigate. (Related: “The monarch butterfly’s spots may be its superpower.”)
Jul 21, 2022 · Monarch Butterflies Are Endangered, Leading Wildlife Monitor Says Researchers cited climate change and habitat loss. But they also said the public can help give the insects a boost.
Jul 27, 2022 · Known for its bright orange colors and its incredible annual migration, the migratory monarch butterfly is now classified as “Endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Jul 22, 2022 · The iconic migratory monarch butterfly, distinguished by its easily recognizable black-and-orange color palette, is now listed as endangered and could become extinct without further action...
