The fluttering Monarch butterfly is in a tailspin to disaster.
New wintering numbers released by Mexico and quoted by several groups on Monday accounted for an estimated 93 million, 91 percent fewer than in the 1990s.
Where once the butterflies would turn 45 acres of Mexican forests orange and black, they covered just six acres this winter, prompting groups to call on the administration to declare the delicate bug endangered.
Monarch population graph courtesy Center for Biological Diversity.
At issue, they say, is global warming and engineered seeds that include pesticides.
“Another year, another reminder: Our government must do what the law and science demands, and protect monarchs under the Endangered Species Act, before it’s too late,” said George Kimbrell, legal director at the Center for Food Safety.
“We could lose the monarch butterfly if we don’t take immediate action to rein in pesticide use and curb global climate change,” said Tierra Curry, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity and co-author of the 2014 petition to protect monarchs under the Endangered Species Act.
The World Wildlife Fund and partners announced the results of its yearly monarch butterfly survey and the numbers are dire—a 14% decrease from last year. The primary cause? Herbicides that are killing milkweed, monarchs’ only source of food. Take action: https://t.co/Wfr2II2KWc pic.twitter.com/Ut1HpNuKBv
— NRDC ? (@NRDC) March 5, 2018
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
