Tag: milkweed

Milkweed plants are vital for monarch butterflies and their larvae, providing nutrition to power their multi-generational migrations. Many of these plants have declined due to human development, prompting conservation organizations...

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed monarch butterflies as endangered due to steep declines experienced over the past decade. Monarchs (Danaus plexippus), which migrate from the United...

Current conservation measures for monarch butterflies may be falling short, say researchers who created a model to analyze how the butterflies are faring. Rodrigo Solis-Sosa, a veterinarian and PhD candidate...

The western monarch butterfly population has been decreasing on its usual breeding grounds throughout the West. Last winter, overwintering numbers were the lowest ever recorded. But that may not mean...

Exhibiting anger while hungry is a common phenomenon — humans have even come up with the term “hangry” to describe it. In monarch (Danaus plexippus) caterpillars, when they can’t get...

Monarch butterflies and bee species use ornamental milkweed plants — the kind sold at garden centers — just as much as they use native plants, researchers found. “There’s a ‘native-plant’...

The Wildlife Society Bulletin is a benefit of membership in The Wildlife Society. Published four times annually, it is one of the world’s leading scientific journals covering wildlife science, management...

Butterfly researchers agree that the disappearance of milkweed in North America has harmed monarch butterflies. Monarchs rely on the plant as a host for their caterpillars. But while some scientists...

Milkweed covered in pesticide cocktails repels egg-laying monarchs and their larvae — but the extent of chemical use in some areas may leave the butterflies with no choice. “Their populations...

Milkweed plants critical for the life cycle of monarch butterflies are loaded with pesticides in Northern California, according to recent research. Past studies have pointed to pesticides as a major...