Help The Monarch Butterfly

Due to a decline in habitat and an increased use of pesticides the monarch butterfly has recently been listed as an endangered species. It all begins with their life cycle, the monarch butterfly will lay eggs on a Milkweed plant. Once the eggs hatch the caterpillars feed exclusively on the Milkweed. With the decline of the Milkweed, the monarch butterflies no longer have somewhere that they can lay their eggs and their caterpillars have a scarcer food source. The increased use of pesticides kill Milkweed plants which the monarch butterflies depend on. We also need to focus on preserving the adult population of monarch butterflies, adults need food to survive. If there isn’t enough food in the area, they will migrate to a new area where there is a larger supply of food and habitat for their eggs. We can help this by planting more pollinator plants which will provide food to adult butterflies.

Here are the steps that we can take to help:

1. Plant More Milkweeds The most important step we can take to help the monarch butterfly is to increase habitat. If we plant more Milkweeds, it will allow for an increased food source for the larva.
2. Control Pesticides That Are Used Controlling or limiting the use of pesticides which can kill Milkweeds.
3. Care For Milkweeds The Milkweed is a staple for monarch butterflies, to help them we need to care for the Milkweed plant.
4. Plant And Maintain Pollinator Plants Pollinator plants will help provide food for adult monarch butterflies.

Learn How Pollinator Plants Can Help Your Garden And The Monarch Butterflies!