Where are the Monarchs?
Have you noticed that there are fewer monarch butterflies than in years past? If so, you�re not alone. According to researchers, in the last 20 years the population of monarch butterflies in the eastern U.S. has declined by 90 percent. When Phyllis and I first started exploring Canaan Valley and Dolly Sods, we could count on joyfully chasing and photographing large numbers of monarchs in fields of goldenrod and aster. But not lately. It�s a big loss. Where are the monarchs? According to experts there are three main reasons for the monarchs decline: 1) Loss of breeding habitat in the Midwest, 2) Loss of wintering-over habitat in Mexico, and 3) Severe weather. The primary reason seems to be the decline in milkweed plants in the monarchs� breeding habitat in the Midwest. �The monarch cycles through 3-5 generations during the breeding season. Only the final generation migrates to Mexico. Monarch caterpillars feed exclusively on milkweed. Historically, the U.S. corn-belt has produced h...