(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The monarch butterfly could be listed as a threatened species next year, following this week’s announcement from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. One local expert talks about what that means for the Illinois state insect.
Curator of entomology at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum Allen Lawrance says this was a bad year for monarch butterflies but points out they see big population swings from year to year.
“It was another bad year for monarchs. So we've had a couple bad years in a row,” Notebaert said.
That’s mainly due to spring and summer weather, when the insects mate and lay eggs in their brief lives after migrating from Mexico. He says the new designation, which could take effect about a year from now, will not prevent people from gardening or removing milkweed.
He says the biggest threat to the charismatic orange and black butterflies is pesticide use in agriculture.
Notebaert doesn't have the latest population numbers for monarchs but it’s not looking great. He calls their winter migration magical since those flying south are doing it for the first time.
“They know exactly where to go in Mexico – these specific, you know, mountain tops to over winter in – and they've never been there before. So how do they find it?”
They’re losing numbers because of climate change and widespread pesticide use in agriculture. The butterflies inside the lakefront nature museum are not monarchs… they’re tropical varieties.
“All of our native species we prefer to keep outside. So if it exists naturally in Illinois, go to our butterfly garden, see them out in the wild.”
The monarchs will be back in the late spring.
The monarch, as Illinois’ state insect, was featured on one of the state flag designs selected as one of the ten finalists. See that flag and the others here.
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