The Canadian Wildlife Federation is working to reduce the extinction risk of the Monarch butterfly and is asking for help through a community science project.
Monarch butterfly populations have declined more than 80% since the mid 1990s.
The CWF is hoping to help the species by restoring their habitats but little information is known about their migration.
We are heading into peak migration time for the daintily winged insect as they migrate up to 4,000 kilometres south to Mexico for the winter.
Carolyn Callaghan, a Senior Conservation Biologist with the CWF, says the Monarch Migration Ambassador program will help them understand where Monarchs are as they migrate.
“We have some knowledge but incomplete knowledge of where Monarch travel. And we’re looking for ambassadors to help us do counts. Counts of Monarch.”
The butterflies migrate during the day and form roosts at night.
“And the roost could be a tree or shrub, it doesn’t matter what kind. And they actually roost and sleep in that tree overnight. And then they need fuel for the road. They need the breakfast and that’s just wildflowers. So a patch nearby they would light on and drink the nectar and that gives them the fuel to carry on. So what we need is kind of connected patches of bed and breakfasts for Monarch as they’re moving down.”
While roosts can be observed nearly anywhere in southern Ontario, they occur much more frequently along the shores of the Great Lakes in locations like Presqu’ile Provincial Park on Lake Ontario and Point Pelee on Lake Erie.
Callaghan says even once the Monarchs make it to their winter home in Mexico it’s impossible to physically count them.
But, in 1995, Canada, the U.S. and Mexico signed a trilateral agreement to conserve the Monarch with a target of having six hectares of land in the Oyamel Fir Forest near Mexico City.
“So instead they measure the amount of land, the hectares of forest that these butterflies are covering. And to make that happen, everyone needs to do their part. So since Canada has breeding habitat, we need to be helping with restoring breeding habitat. Same for the U.S. And then Mexico’s job is to maintain those over-wintering grounds.”
Callaghan says the official counts are taken in Mexico every February and while the number fluctuates due to annual cycles, the butterflies are only covering about two hectares of land each year.
Callaghan notes there are other ways to help the Monarch besides the ambassador program, including planting naturalized yards with native wildflowers for pollinators.
Milkweed is especially important to Monarchs.
“If you’re a Monarch you need a particular plant for your caterpillars to rear on and that’s milkweed. And the number of milkweeds have declined quite a bit. People who have yards, they can grow a little patch of milkweed and other wildflowers and help to provide those little bits of habitat for Monarch. Everything counts.”
And what’s good for Monarchs is good for other species as well.
“The interesting thing too is if you restore habitat for Monarch you’re also helping tons of other species. There’s about, over 16,000 pollinating species in Canada. Many of them live in the same range as Monarchs.”
Callaghan says to become an ambassador, you can download the “inaturalist” app and search Monarch migration in Ontario.
The CWF is also inviting people to help with point count surveys of Monarchs.
Click here for more information and how to become a part of both programs.
