Target: Monarch Butterflies as indicators of agricultural impacts and other stresses.- Importance to Food & Agr: Indicator of excessive herbicide use and removal of hedgerows causing loss of their host milkweed plants. Monarchs have the best-known long-distance insect migration—from Canada and the US to Mexico, and numbers are dropping dramatically.
- Issues: Milkweed loss as above is aggravated by GMO crops allowing increased spraying. Migrating populations are imperiled by wintering habitat losses in Mexico and California and winter weather impacts. There is much uncertainty and concern about monarchs that winter along the US Pacific Coast, and where they migrate, so observations in our region are important for those populations as well.
- Observing Options: Arrival and departure dates, numbers, presence of milkweed species host plants.
- Citizen Science:
- Journey North’s Monarch Butterfly Project allows you to report Monarch sightings and track their progress on maps, population status, weather, and much more.
- The Western Monarch Milkweed Mapper focuses on declining monarch populations across the Western US and seeks postings of your monarch and milkweed observations.
- The Southwest Monarch Study gives you several ways to report your sightings in an effort to better understand monarchs and their migration in this area, and even help tag monarchs for tracking.
- Getting Started Tip: Become familiar with locations of milkweed in your area so you can be on the lookout for monarchs as they emerge or move into your area.
- Additional Resources: Monarch Watch promotes planting of milkweed species where needed, and has many conservation and education activities. See Monarch Conservation site from Xerces.
Healthy Community Food Systems
Healthy Land, Healthy Food, Healthy People
Being Proactive—as a Community—About Climate Change in our Local Food Systems and Foodsheds
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