Americans place high value on butterfly royalty. A recent study suggests they are willing to support monarch butterfly conservation at high levels, up to about 6 ½ billion dollars if extrapolated to all U.S. households.
If even a small percentage of the population acted upon this reported willingness, the cumulative effort would likely translate into a large, untapped potential for conservation of the iconic butterfly. (more…)
*Loss of milkweed in Midwestern farm fields harms butterflies, a study shows*
If you’re a gardener, milkweed may not be at the top of your list.
But if you love Minnesota’s state insect—the monarch butterfly—maybe it should be.
Monarchs lay their eggs on milkweed, but the plant is disappearing from what used to be a prime reservoir: Midwestern farm fields. A new study by University of Minnesota monarch expert Karen Oberhauser and her Iowa State colleague John Pleasants ties a decade-long decline in monarch populations to the loss of milkweed from the corn and soybean fields that blanket the region. (more…)
