Excerpt from WHIO
Planting common milkweed is one important step you can take to support the now endangered monarch butterfly and have the iconic insect visit your yard, a Wright State University biology professor said.
There is a high likelihood of extinction for the butterfly species if something isn’t done, the professor, Don Cipollini, told News Center 7′s Brandon Lewis on Friday.
The migratory monarch this week is the most recent member to be added to the endangered species list maintained by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the world’s most comprehensive scientific authority on the status of species.
The authors reviewed about 100 studies, interviewed experts and applied criteria from the group’s Red List of Threatened Species to arrive at their decision. The IUCN’s list is not related to the U.S. Endangered Species Act and right now, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has not listed the monarch as endangered.
According to the IUCN, the native population of the monarch butterfly, known for its migrations from Mexico and California in the winter to summer breeding grounds throughout the United States and Canada, has shrunk by between 22% and 72% over the past decade.
