Missing monarchs

PRAIRIE CITY — Amid a push to grant the monarch butterfly endangered species protection, the rapid decline of the monarch population was evident at a tagging event Saturday at the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge.

Despite nearly 100 volunteers readied with butterfly nets who trudged through the prairie for more than an hour, just nine monarchs were tagged.

The monarch species, which experienced a population drop of more than 90 percent over the past two decades, will soon make a 3,000-mile trek south to Mexico during its annual fall migration.

Brianna Patrick, a park ranger at the refuge, said the numbers were disappointing.

“Just three years ago we were tagging more than 100 monarchs during this event,” Patrick said. “Last year we had 14, this year we had nine.”

In response to the monarch decline the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge is adding milkweed seed into its mixes to encourage the habitat on the federally protected land.

“They have to have milkweed to live,” Patrick said. “That’s where they live, that’s where they lay their eggs and that’s what their caterpillar’s eat.”

Patrick said despite low numbers, the event was an opportunity to give children and families a hands-on learning experience in nature.

Such was the case for 2-year-old Isaiah Conner, of Clive, who searched for monarchs perched atop his father’s shoulders, net in hand. Isaiah Conner and his brothers were one of two families that found a monarch in their group.

Tenlea Turner, an intern at the refuge, carefully tagged the female monarch before she asked for volunteers to help in its release

Caleb Conner steadied his hand to allow the butterfly to sit for just second before it took flight.

Some monarchs migrate from Canada all the way to Mexico to live out the winter before returning north for the summer, Patrick said. Tagging monarchs helps researchers track monarch migration and to learn more about their habitat needs.

When environmental and food-safety groups recently asked the Fish and Wildlife Service to grant endangered species protection to monarchs they targeted the use of Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide and crops for a decline in milkweed. A spokesperson for the company, however, pointed the finger toward climate changes and logging in Mexico.

Protected status would allow for a more aggressive approach to protecting the butterfly’s habitat. However, the process of adding a species to the endangered list can take years.

Contact Editor Abigail Pelzer at (641) 792-3121 ext. 6530 or apelzer@newtondailynews.com.