Monarch Butterfly note card

Monarch Butterfly Since the 1980s Western Monarch butterflies have declined by over 99%. These butterflies are on the edge of extinction, and without rapid changes, future generations may never get the opportunity to glimpse the fluttering wings of these brightly coloured pollinators in real life – only in history books.The pesticide glyphosate is wiping out the only food source for monarch caterpillars. Milkweed for monarchs is essential for their lives, but it’s being decimated with herbicides used in agriculture, roadside ditch maintenance, residential lawns, and public parks. Pesticide use is at an all-time high, and with the population of milkweed decreasing, it’s no wonder that monarchs are now endangered.Monarch butterflies depend on specific habitats for their winter hibernation, migration, and reproduction. Changes to the temperature due to climate change have disrupted crucial stages in the monarch’s life cycle. As climate change accelerates, so does the stress on the butterflies at the beginning of the overwintering stage.Monarch butterflies are not extinct — yet — but these pollinators could be gone within our lifetimes.