It’s a tough world out there and many animals have had to arm themselves. One capacity that has evolved time and time again is toxic weaponry – venoms and poisons. Although oft confused, there is a clear distinction between these two forms of toxins. Whereas venoms are produced in specialised tissues and are delivered to predators or prey through […]
Tag: monarch butterflies
Wildlife Crossings: A Win-Win for Wildlife and Drivers
Who hasn’t seen an animal on the side of the road, struck by a vehicle? Collisions with vehicles are a leading cause of mortality for various species and are the result of the fragmentation of wildlife habitats. Roads and other infrastructures impede animals’ movement and ecological connectivity. Animals depend on this connectivity in their habitats […]
Saving critical winter habitat for monarch butterflies may depend on buy-in from their human neighbors
The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) population has plummeted by 80% to 95% since the 1990s, depending on the region and monitoring method. A major cause of the species’ decline is deforestation in central Mexico, where eastern monarchs spend the colder winter months of their annual migration from Canada and the northern United States. Since 1980, […]
Trump officials reveal plan to roll back regulations in Endangered Species Act
The Trump administration presented a new plan to roll back regulations in the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on Wednesday, a move experts fear will accelerate the extinction crisis if adopted. The proposed changes would allow the federal government more power to weigh economic impact against habitat designations, remove safeguards against future events – including the […]
Mass Die-Off of Western Monarch Butterflies Linked to Pesticides, Study Finds
A new peer-reviewed study has linked pesticides as a likely cause to a mass die-off of Western monarch butterflies that occurred in 2024. In January 2024, researchers found hundreds of dead or dying monarch butterflies near the Pacific Grove Monarch Sanctuary in California, where Western monarch butterflies typically overwinter. As The Guardian reported, researchers found […]
The Reconciliation Bill Passed. What Does That Mean for Wildlife?
Thousands of miles separate Washington, D.C., from the Alaskan coastal plains where polar bear moms raise their cubs. But decisions made on Capitol Hill can have life-or-death implications for polar bears and other vulnerable wildlife—in the Arctic and across the nation. Earlier this month, Congress made several such decisions as part of a broad budget […]
The fate of this beloved American creature is in Trump’s hands
In late 2021, I stood in a forest about two hours from Mexico City and watched as a river of butterflies passed overhead. They were monarchs — the iconic, Halloween-colored butterflies — and they were coming here from the US to rest for the cold winter months. Nearly all of the monarchs east of the […]
Butterfly population in US shrinking by 22% over last 20 years, study shows
Butterflies may be among the most beloved of all creatures, routinely deified in art and verse, but they are in alarming decline in the United States with populations plummeting by a fifth in just the past two decades, according to the most comprehensive study yet of their fortunes. The abundance of butterflies in the US […]