America’s Butterflies Are Vanishing

ACROSS AMERICA — The eastern regal fritillary butterfly, found only at a single location in Pennsylvania, is on the brink of extinction and the more widely distributed western regal fritillary is threatened, federal wildlife officials said last month in a proposed federal rule to protect both subspecies.

The announcement by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is more bad news about the future of some of America’s most beloved butterflies, whose numbers have been measurably dropping every year, according to scientists who warn declines have been noted across at least 50 species, and some could completely disappear.

Those species include showy North American monarch butterflies, which are beginning their celebrated fall migration from breeding grounds in North America to spend the winter in the forests of Mexico.

Here are five things to know about America’s vanishing butterflies:

Why Are Regal Fritillary Butterflies In Peril?

A 60-day comment period on the proposed rule to protect fritillary butterflies, which is published in the Federal Register, ends in early October. The recommendation is based on an independently peer-reviewed Species Status Assessment.

The eastern regal fritillary, now found only at the Indiantown Gap National Guard Installation in Annville, Pennsylvania, once had an expansive range that stretched from the Canadian province of New Brunswick to North Carolina. Because the species is limited to a single remaining grassland habitat managed by the National Guard, individual butterflies cannot disperse to other sites if the habitat is degraded.

The ongoing effects of climate change and drought could further degrade the habitat in the eastern regal fritillary’s limited habitat. Temperature swings and moisture could affect bloom times and the overall productivity of the native violet species the eastern regal fritillary’s caterpillars need to survive.

Both subspecies need violets to support larvae growth, nectar sources to sustain breeding females into the fall, and native grasslands with tall vegetation that provide shelter for all stages.

The western regal fritillary is now found in native grasslands in 14 states — Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

The subspecies is not in immediate danger of extinction, but its future is precarious in the foreseeable future due to habitat loss, grassland conversion for agricultural and urban development, pesticide use, invasive plants, climate change and drought, among other threats.

What’s Happening With Monarchs?

In 2022, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the world’s foremost scientific authority on the status of species, listed the monarch butterfly as endangered, citing climate change, drought that limits the milkweed monarchs need to survive, and severe weather that killed millions of butterflies.

Winter-to-summer breeding grounds throughout the United States have shrunk 22 percent and 72 percent over the decade ending in 2022, the year the IUCN listed the North American monarch butterfly as endangered. Pesticides used in intensive agricultural operations across the butterflies’ range kill them and the milkweed the larvae feed on, the IUCN said.

Climate change is a “fast-growing threat,” contributing to droughts that limit the growth of milkweed, increase the frequency of catastrophic wildfires that destroy the plants, temperature extremes that trigger early migrations before the milkweed is ready and severe weather that kills millions on their journey, the IUCN said.

Monarch populations in the western U.S. that have declined 99.9 percent in the past four decades are at the greatest risk of extinction. The IUCN estimated the population in that region of the country at around 1,914 in 2021, compared to as many of 10 million in the 1980s.

The 2023 annual count for the eastern monarch butterfly population was the second-lowest in history, declining more than 60 percent from the previous year, according to the Center for Biological Biodiversity. The population is only one-sixth the size needed to be out of the danger zone for migratory collapse, the organization said.

The western population of monarchs, which famously winters on the California coast each year, remains at just 5 percent of what it once was.

Scientists are concerned there aren’t enough butterflies to maintain the populations, and they could become extinct.

“It is difficult to watch monarch butterflies and their extraordinary migration teeter on the edge of collapse, but there are signs of hope,” said Anna Walker, an IUCN member and the species survival officer at the New Mexico BioPark Society, who led the monarch butterfly assessment.

What Butterflies Migrate?

Some fritillary butterfly species migrate, but regal fritillaries don’t. Intolerant of cold weather, Gulf fritillary butterflies migrate north in the spring to breed and then back in the fall to overwinter, but there is little to no reverse migration in the fall.

Research shows about 600 butterfly species have shown evidence of migration, including those known by common names such as painted lady, red admiral, American lady, common buckeye and, of course, the large North American monarchs.

What’s So Special About Monarchs?

The two-way migration pattern of monarch butterflies is considered to be one of the most highly evolved among any species. Other butterflies that overwinter in adult form are the angelwings Eastern comma and question mark, and the mourning cloak.

In early fall, kaleidoscopes of up to 500,000 of monarch butterflies fly up to 2,500 miles from summer breeding grounds throughout the United States and Canada to overwinter in Mexico and California. At times, the air is so thick with butterflies that those along the migratory routes can hear monarchs’ wings beating.

What’s Being Done?

Multiple organizations have rallied to save vanishing butterflies. Even backyard gardeners can help by planting native species and reducing pesticide, especially in overwintering areas.

The Ford Indian Town Gap is partnering with Zoo America to develop a captive rearing program for the eastern regal fritillary, and reintroduction efforts are underway to promote biodiversity. Protecting grasslands with tall grasses and violet plants is imperative, according to experts.

The Center for Biological Diversity and more than 20 other groups in May called on Congress to commit more than $100 million a year to save monarch butterflies from extinction.

“More than America’s most beloved butterfly, the monarch is a symbol of wonder, transformation and resilience,” Stephanie Kurose, deputy director of government affairs at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. “This may be Congress’ last chance to save monarchs before they become the face of the extinction crisis.”

People in neighborhoods across the country can help in the efforts by planting native species such as milkweed and grasses and violets the monarchs and regal fritillaries, respectively, need to survive.

Butterfly gardens are a good way to attract and encourage monarchs. The National Wildlife Federation has a program that can teach people to turn any outside space into a complete habitat for monarch butterflies — whether in their own yards, at schools or churches or business courtyards. Entire communities are launching efforts to create monarch habitat, NWF said. Click here to learn how to create a wildlife-friendly garden.

Or, create a monarch butterfly way station, a great option for city-dwellers who don’t have big back yards. Container gardens on balconies, rooftops and stoops will lure monarchs.

Also, avoid using pesticides, many of which contain glyphosate, the compound found in Roundup, which has been linked to the collapse of monarch populations. Click here to learn how to garden organically. Also, be a smart consumer. Buying organic produce and avoiding genetically engineered foods can indirectly boost monarch populations.