Context
The iconic black and orange monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus plexippus), known for its spectacular annual journey of up to 4,000 kilometres across the Americas, has entered the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as Endangered, threatened by habitat destruction and climate change.
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The IUCN Red List now includes 147,517 species, of which 41,459 are threatened with extinction.
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Important facts about the Species
- The Endangered migratory monarch butterfly is a subspecies of the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus).
- The species is known for its migrations from Mexico and California in the winter to summer breeding grounds throughout the United States and Canada.
- Monarchs are concentrated in North, Central, and South America but can also be found in Australia, Hawaii, India, and other locations, albeit intermittently in some.
- The native population has shrunk by between 22% and 72% over the past decade.
Factors responsible for the decline
- Logging and deforestation that have destroyed large swaths of the butterflies’ winter shelter
- Pesticides and herbicides used in agriculture also have killed butterflies and the milkweed plants that the larvae feed on.
- High temperatures fuelled by climate change have also triggered earlier migrations before milkweed is available.
