Ever notice how about 15-20 years ago while driving on the highway your car would be covered in bugs? And now hardly any.
Monarch butterfly numbers keep declining
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Re: Monarch butterfly numbers keep declining
#22I grew up next to meadows that were rarely if ever cut, in the 1980's (Northeastern US). As a young child I'd often find Monarch caterpillars, and was sometimes allowed to keep them in a small, strange box molded from glass and known as a terrarium. I'd feed them milkweed until they reached the pupal stage, then watch with wonder as the chrysalis changed from a jade-like, gold-rimmed ornament into a transparent capsule of folded orange-black wings. Finally, when the new insect emerged, we watched and waited (with still more patience) for the wings to dry, leading up to release day, when the butterfly was suddenly gone in a dash toward the sky.
Guided by my grandmother, an amateur naturalist, these were my first experiences leading to a knowledge of change, lifecycle, and above all the beauty to be found in the natural world. This simple gestation process of a curious looking caterpillar is impressed on me like no other early childhood memory. A process taking weeks, it was my first consciousness of time.
Today, those meadows are acres and acres of trimmed lawn. The smooth aesthetic of green grass pocked with dandelion has won over the wildness of a milkweed dotted field. But me, I've forsworn all lawn mowing, and should I ever own a meadow, will let it go to seed.
Re: Monarch butterfly numbers keep declining
#23Ever notice how about 15-20 years ago while driving on the highway your car would be covered in bugs? And now hardly any.
Yes. You're not the only one... https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/05/where-have-all-insec...
Re: Monarch butterfly numbers keep declining
#24Ever notice how about 15-20 years ago while driving on the highway your car would be covered in bugs? And now hardly any.
It's very disturbing. I used to drive across the country on a yearly basis (i80) and would have to clean my windshield of bugs at many of the gas stops, by the time I arrived the nose of the car would completely covered. Last year I made the same trip, similar time of year as previous trips, and didn't clean the windshield once.
Things are getting really out of wack, and I'm not looking forward to being around for what might become the collapse of our ecosystem.
Re: Monarch butterfly numbers keep declining
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
Monsanto sells products to annihilate most insects to ensure monoculture lawns. Have you not seen that throughout America?
In California I haven’t seen much advertised in this regard. You’re saying it’s common elsewhere?
California has less bugs... In the midwest in most cities/suburbs you have to maintain your lawn for the purpose of keeping the bugs and noxious weeds down. If you don't, it's a code violation. I think the real reason is that mosquitos like to hide in them... Find a way to keep the mosquitos at bay and maybe we can have more natural lawns.
Re: Monarch butterfly numbers keep declining
#26I was in Monterrey and San Luis Obispo last December and ran into the Monarchs on their way migrating down south. It was quite a sight catching them randomly on forest hikes: https://i.imgur.com/315pC3y.jpg
Re: Monarch butterfly numbers keep declining
#27Anecdata. I live in the same place I grew up. As a kid, the monarchs passing through was a fun part of the season. Thousands and thousands of butterflies over a few weeks or so. Now, we are lucky to spot a single monarch.
Re: Monarch butterfly numbers keep declining
#28As it happens, I just got back from seeing the Monarch grove in Mexico. It's an amazing sight. When the sun comes out from behind the clouds and they all warm up and take off within a couple minutes, the air is so full of them that they darken the sky. And the mountain (in Michoacan province, about 2 hours by car from Mexico City) is beautiful and the people are friendly. If you've seen the Monarch groves on the Cali…
Note that there are multiple species of milkweed. If you find milkweed unappealing, look into other species. In the late 1980s/early 1990s, I found a couple of monarch pupae on some plants in the wetlands in my back yard. The plant stems were more stiff and the leaves less velvety than the milkweed I was familiar with in the local park. I asked our local nature center if Monarchs only eat milkweed, why they would pup…
A retaining wall in my backyard has a growth of Cynanchum laeve (honeyvine milkweed) and English ivy - it looks rather nice, and every year I find a handful of monarch caterpillars happily munching away at the leaves. While the vines can spread and be very invasive if not controlled, they co-mingle with ivy very well. I greatly appreciate them being part of my garden.