Environment

Monarch Butterflies

Environment

Posted by: blackout

26th Nov 2013 07:48pm

For years I grew giant swan plants in my garden to attract monarchs to lay eggs and I’d have at least 200 butterflies emerge every summer but over the past five years there’s been a vast drop in the number of butterflies I’ve seen laying eggs and last summer I had 12 butterflies emerge. One factor behind the decline is an increase in Asian paper wasps that initially killed and ate caterpillars but of late have begun preying on eggs. The wasps have no natural enemies and a next to impossible to eradicate. But more disturbingly the major contributing factor I believe is behind the decline is an increasing use of chemical sprays. I live in a major wine growing region. The industry claim they embrace sustainable practices to minimise affect the industry has on the environment, but the use of chemical pesticides and herbicides appears to be increasing, made evident by a more frequent smell of spray drift. It comes down to what’s considered more important, preserving the monarch or producing more wine. Unfortunately the monarch will lose out.

Comments 1

s
  • 13th Oct 2014 12:07pm

I rarely see a butterfly now. That is the problem as the Asian paper wasps sound like they could have been introduced to help a species survive but nothing is perfect and it causes other problems not known before to other species.

But today we are more inclined to help a species survive more so if it is in danger of extinction an example of this is the Tasmanian devil and the pigmy blue tongued lizard (only found in 1 place in SA).

But I have heard of Butterfly farms so that is one way of helping the butterflies and we can also enjoy them also at the same time.

But we can do more maybe you should contact the environment minister about the butterflies and the spray as it may effect people not now but in the future.

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