UPDATE: DEC. 31, 2014
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced it is launching an official scientific review of the monarch butterfly to determine whether it should be placed on the endangered species list.
According to a press release the department seeks the following information by March.
- The subspecies' biology, range and population trends, habitat requirements, genetics and taxonomy
- Historical and current range, including distribution patterns
- Historical and current population levels and current and projected trends
- The life history or behavior of the monarch butterfly that has not yet been documented
- Thermo-tolerance range and microclimate requirements of the monarch butterfly
- Past and ongoing conservation measures for the subspecies, its habitat or both
- Factors that are the basis for making a listing determination under section 4(a) of the Endangered Species Act
As we've reported, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources will help provide some of that information for the Midwest.
ORIGINAL STORY: SEPT. 19, 2014
Over the past two decades, the monarch butterfly population has taken a major hit in North America. Some estimates show the population has declined as much as 90 percent.
That news prompted three advocacy groups to create a petition, asking for the butterfly to be put on the threatened species list – one step below endangered.
It will still be a couple months before the U.S. Fish and Wildlife even decides whether the petition is valid, but, if the monarch is designated a threatened species, it could have a major impact on land management practices in Indiana.
Some monarch butterfly advocates also say those practices should be put into place whether the monarch is put on the list or not.
Creating a Habitat For Monarchs to Thrive
Monarchs are unique. They are the olympic athletes of the butterfly world."
-Reni Winter-Evans
When you drive up to the Winterhaven Wildflowers and Native Plant Preserve, located off a small county road just south of Lafayette, the first thing you see are a lot of plants – all seeming to overlap each other; many of them reaching above your head.
Owner Reni Winter-Evans is quick to point out that while this may look chaotic, these native plants are some of the best habitats for butterflies, and one butterfly in particular.
"This is milkweed over here," she says pointing to a tall dark green plant with leaves larger than a hand. "This is what I promote as the best host plant for monarchs in the area because the leaves are huge."
Monarch butterflies have a special place in Evans' heart.
"Monarchs are unique. They are the olympic athletes of the butterfly world," Evans says. "They're strong. They're admirable. They're amazing to watch."
As a way to track and preserve monarchs, each year, Evans collects monarch caterpillars and waits for them to turn into butterflies. Then, she tags them as a part of the Monarch Watch project, and finally releases them to start their migration south to Mexico.
Watch the video below to learn more about the monarch migration.
Evans says, like many other monarch observers, she's seen a major decline in the monarch population over the years.
During a typical summer, Evans allows school children to come to the preserve to find monarch caterpillars so she can raise and release them. About five years ago, they collected 100 monarchs.
"You would see kids running around, ‘Got one,' and you'd see a head pop up, 'Found one!'" Evans says as she remembers how excited the kids were. "Then it didn't happen anymore."
Last year and this year, she hasn't even invited children to come because the monarch's are so hard to find. She only expects she'll be able to collect about two dozen this year.
That is why she is encouraging Hoosiers to start growing milkweed in their backyards. Milkweed is the monarch's sole source of food.
"Each female can lay over 300 eggs in her lifetime," Evans explains. "So if you multiply exponentially what that female can produce in the generations, than that one person can make a difference."
A Large Scale Solution
But entomologists say backyard efforts aren't enough.
"I would recommend it for anyone who is interested in nature and likes butterflies, but we're really talking about a much larger scale," says Jonathan Neal, an associate professor of entomology at Purdue University. "The efforts for habitat restoration really needs to be on a much larger scale than individual backyards."
Neal has been studying and teaching about butterflies at Purdue University for more than two decades. He says other than climate change, the loss of milkweed is the biggest threat to the monarch population, and that problem is easy to see in the Midwest.Â
The efforts for habitat restoration really needs to be on a much larger scale than individual backyards."
- Jonathan Neal, Purdue University Professor
"There have been some changes in agricultural practices," he says. "There has been expansion of acres planted to crops, especially corn for ethanol. They have pushed out the fallow areas that contain milkweed."
Neal says the good news is that simply  letting milkweed grow in medians and on the edges of farmland could greatly improve the habitat for monarch butterflies and reverse the downward trend.
"Practice for how right of ways are maintained such as mowing, or herbicides, power lines, roadway and railroad right of ways, depending on how that's managed, that can either encourage or eliminate milkweed," Neal says.
If the monarch makes it on the threatened species list, those practices could become a mandate instead of a recommendation.
"It's a massive commitment which will influence many aspects of our economy. Agriculture is the big one," says Tom Swinford, Assistant Division Director of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources' Nature Preserves.
While the fact that Indiana has a lot of farmland could be considered a threat to the monarch, Swinford says that also means the state could be a major player in restoring the butterfly population.
"We have a productive landscape, so we have potential to really influence it I believe," Swinford says. "We're in the corn belt. We have a huge agricultural area, so it will be a difficult thing to work out but I think all parties will be interested in maintaining this iconic insect."
The Case for the Threatened Species List
So, right now, the question is should the monarch be considered a threatened species?
The answer depends on who you ask.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services has 90 days from the time the petition was submitted to determine whether it has any merit. If it does, the department then has nine months to consider whether the monarch population is actually at risk.
That decision will be based on data individual state agencies, such as the Indiana DNR, provide information about the monarch in their respective regions.Â
Monarchs have been part of our daily lives. They play a huge role in the education of kids. They are the king butterfly."
-Tom Swinford, DNR
There are monarch butterflies in other parts of the world as well as other parts of the U.S. (there's a population on the West coast that is separate from the larger migrating population) that are not in as great of risk, which could make putting the species on the threatened species list more difficult.
The monarch butterfly is also not a major pollinator like some other butterflies, and it's not a major food source to any birds or other animals.
But entomologists say it is a barometer of the environment's overall health.
"It's a sort of canary in the coal mine if you will," Neal says. "If the monarch butterfly population is feeling the effects of environmental change, and it's things that have a human cause or can be affected by changes in human management practices, then we need to look to way we manage things."
The monarch butterfly has one other big advantage – public opinion.
"It always helps to be large, active and beautiful," Swinford says. "Monarchs have been part of our daily lives. They play a huge role in the education of kids. They are the king butterfly."
