Monarch Butterfly

Why in News?

The U.S. recently proposed listing of the Monarch Butterfly under its Endangered Species Act, to protect its declining population.

• Monarch – It is a large and brilliantly colored among the most easily recognizable butterfly species.
• Scientific name – Danaus Plexippus
  • Greek meaning – Sleepy transformation, that evokes the species' ability to hibernate and metamorphize.
• Distribution – North, Central, and South America, Australia, Pacific Islands, India, and Western Europe.

Monarch Butterfly is known as milkweed, common tiger, wanderer, and black-veined brown depending on the region they are found.

• Habitat – Gardens, managed Corridors, agricultural areas, and natural and restored areas.
• Morphology – It possess 2 pairs of brilliant orange-red wings, featuring black veins and white spots along the edges.
• The body is black spotted with white markings.

• Sexual dimorphism
  • Male – 2 black spots in the center of their hind wings, which females lack.
  • Females – It have thicker wing veins than males.

• The males attract females to mate by releasing chemicals from scent glands on the hind wings.
• Growing conditions - Milkweed is the only plant on which monarchs will lay their eggs and the only source of food for baby caterpillars.
• Migratory bird – They travel between 1,200 and 2,800 miles or more from the northeast United States, and southeast Canada to the mountain forests in central Mexico.
• They hibernate from the beginning of November to mid-March.
• Threats – Habitat loss caused by human activities such as,
  • Farming
  • Urban development
  • Widespread use of pesticides
  • Climate change

Eastern migratory monarch population has declined by about 80% while the western migratory population has dropped by more than 95%. The western populations at greater than 99% chance of extinction by 2080.

• Conservation Status - IUCN Status
  • Endangered in 2022
  • Vulnerable in 2023

References

1. The Hindu| Declining of Monarch Butterfly
2. World Wildlife Org| Monarch Butterfly