Mother Nature is best for them
Just leave them in Mother Nature's hands is what the latest Monarch study from the University of Georgia concluded.
Using seventeen years of data, scentists answered the question of why Monarchs are not reaching their wintering grounds. And it is not because of loss of habitat or lack of food along the migration route.
The two cited culprits are 1/ gardener-planted non-native (tropical) milkweeds that have more parasite spores that can infect and kill the larvae and 2/ human rearing of Monarchs that makes them less fit for migration.
The study was published yesterday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
See the story here www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/10/241016120135.htm
This Monarch is a free-flying butterfly photographed in a natural area in Charles County, Maryland
In order to preserve authenticity of the species in its natural habitat there are no color enhancements or augmentations other than cropping of the image. Open in large view to see the pollen grains on her body.
Mother Nature is best for them
Just leave them in Mother Nature's hands is what the latest Monarch study from the University of Georgia concluded.
Using seventeen years of data, scentists answered the question of why Monarchs are not reaching their wintering grounds. And it is not because of loss of habitat or lack of food along the migration route.
The two cited culprits are 1/ gardener-planted non-native (tropical) milkweeds that have more parasite spores that can infect and kill the larvae and 2/ human rearing of Monarchs that makes them less fit for migration.
The study was published yesterday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
See the story here www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/10/241016120135.htm
This Monarch is a free-flying butterfly photographed in a natural area in Charles County, Maryland
In order to preserve authenticity of the species in its natural habitat there are no color enhancements or augmentations other than cropping of the image. Open in large view to see the pollen grains on her body.