A monarch butterfly at the Butterfly Pavilion at the LA County Natural History Museum on Wednesday, June 1, 2022.
David Crane | MediaNews Group | Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images
International conservationists said Thursday that the iconic black and orange monarch butterfly is at risk of extinction due to habitat destruction and climate change.
The monarch butterfly, known for its annual migration across the country, was listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Red List of Threatened Species.
Every autumn, millions of butterflies make the longest known migration of any insect, flying thousands of miles from breeding grounds in the eastern US and Canada to spend the winter months in Mexico and California.
Scientists said the monarch population has declined from 22% to 72% over the past decade. Western populations are at greatest risk of extinction, having declined 99.9% from an estimated 10 million butterflies to just 1,914 butterflies between 1980 and 2021.
More than 40,000 species are now at risk of extinction, according to the IUCN, as scientists warn that Earth is going through a sixth mass extinction event driven by human activity.
Legal and illegal logging and deforestation have destroyed large parts of the butterflies’ winter shelter in Mexico and California. Pesticides and herbicides used in agriculture have also killed butterflies and milkweeds that the larvae feed on. Higher temperatures due to climate change have also triggered migration before milkweed was available.
“Today’s Red List update highlights the fragility of nature’s wonders,” IUCN Director-General Bruno Oberle said in a statement. “To preserve nature’s rich diversity we need effective, appropriately governed protected and protected areas, along with decisive action to combat climate change and restore ecosystems.”
Scientists are concerned about whether enough monarch butterflies will survive to sustain the population and avoid extinction. Conservationists are urging people and organizations to help protect the species, from planting milkweed to reducing pesticide use.
“It is heartbreaking that monarch butterflies are now classified as endangered by the IUCN Red List, the leading international scientific body on extinction,” said Stephanie Kuroz, senior endangered species policy specialist at the Center for Biological Diversity.
“The Fish and Wildlife Service should stop sitting on its hands and protect the monarch butterfly under the Endangered Species Act, instead of hiding behind bureaucratic pretexts,” Kurose said.