Calls for more milkweed, international conservation plan as monarch butterfly population dwindles

As Monarch butterflies prepare for their big migration, CTV’s Alexandra Holyk shares tips to help the endangered species.

Monarch butterflies will soon make their annual migration to Mexico but, before they take off on the 4,000-kilometre trek, some are spending their days at pollinator garden in Stratford, Ont.

“The butterflies that you see throughout the summer are here to basically enjoy their summer vacation,” explained Barb Hacking, a monarch butterfly enthusiast. “The monarchs that we’re seeing now, the eggs that are being laid now, are what we call the super generation. They’re going to be slightly bigger.”

She has raised monarch butterflies for over 40 years, first as a teacher and now as one of the facilitators of the Ted Blowes Memorial Pollinator Peace Garden.

Hacking works alongside her 89-year-old gardening partner, Bernie Van Herk, who got involved in the project around five years ago. Together they collect monarch eggs found on milkweed leaves in the garden.

“We protect them until they’re butterflies simply because many of the eggs will get eaten or the caterpillars get eaten,” Hacking explained.

The pair then brings the butterflies back to the garden where they release them.

They also help educate others on the endangered species.

“It’s amazing what they do,” Van Herk said of the butterflies. “I like it because it makes people happy.”

The population of monarch butterflies, however, is dwindling.

“The monarch population has declined significantly over the past 25 to 30 years,” explained Tyler Flockhart, a former post-doctoral fellow at the University of Guelph.

He said the driving factor for the drop is habitat loss and, specifically, the eradication of common milkweed plants.

Milkweed is the only plant monarch butterflies will lay their eggs on. Ontario removed it from its “noxious weeds” list in 2014, allowing public and private gardeners to freely plant milkweed.

A new research study by Flockhart and Ryan Norris, a professor at the University of Guelph, suggests a collaborative conservation plan between Canada, the United States and Mexico.

“The conservation of this species is really a shared effort between the three countries because monarchs move between these three countries over the annual cycle,” Flockhart said.

The study also recommends investing $150 million USD, over a five-year period, towards restoration efforts. The first four years, or $120 million USD, would go toward the U.S. Midwest, where monarch productivity tends to be the highest.

“Then, in the fifth year, you would actually allocate funds both in southern Ontario and the prairie provinces of Canada, as well as in Mexico, where the butterflies overwinter,” Flockhart explained.

His hope is that millions of milkweed plants will result in millions of monarch butterflies.

“If you plant for them, they will come,” added Hacking.

On the local level, both Hacking and Flockhart say the best thing people can do is plant milkweed in their gardens.

Rearing and raising monarch butterflies

For those looking to try their hand at raising monarch butterflies themselves, Hacking said important to create a habitat outdoors instead of bringing the eggs or caterpillars inside.

“It’s not something that’s recommended,” she added.

“It’s a listed species in Canada, you actually aren’t supposed to collect them,” Flockhart said.

According to the Toronto Entomologists’ Association, monarch and swallowtail butterflies are protected under the Ontario Fish and Wildlife Act. Therefore, those looking to rear more than one monarch or swallowtail caterpillar must get a permit from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.