(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Illinois’ state insect is in trouble, as recent data from parts of central Mexico found that the presence of monarch butterflies was about half of what it was during winter 2023.
Monarch butterflies ordinarily winter in central Mexico, and advocates for monarch butterflies said the numbers were the second-worst ever recorded.
“I am very concerned with the monarch numbers out of Mexico this year,” said Scott Black, the executive director of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, which manages the Western Monarch Count.
Black added that monarchs need to be listed under the Endangered Species Act in the United States in order to maximize protection and the restoration of its habitat.
The report out of central Mexico followed January data that showed the number of wintering monarchs in California dropped by 30%.
Officials blamed the California numbers on how wet the past year was.
Although the monarch butterfly population has grown to hundreds of thousands — up from just 2,000 in 2020 — its numbers are still well below where they were in the 1980s, when monarchs numbered in the millions.
The World Wildlife Fund said that without significant conservation efforts, they may become extinct.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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