William Snyder, professor in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and Andy Davis, research scientist in the Odum School of Ecology, spoke with GPB about the increasing number of monarch butterflies that fail to complete their migration to Mexico.
Across 17 years, Georgia scientists have surveyed the numbers of monarchs making overnight stops in shrubs, trees and other plants, observing a decline by as much as 80%.
While researchers aren’t sure of the cause, Snyder noted that there are ways that people can help.
“What you could do to try to help would be to plant more flowering plants along the fall migration route,” he said.
The flowering plants won’t encourage the butterflies to linger, and they’ll provide nectar for them on their travels.
Some researchers suspect climate change as a leading force in the changing migration pattern. However, Snyder and Davis both point to an increase of parasitic infections and captive breeding as potential factors.
Well-meaning people can do more harm than good by bringing monarchs inside to rest during their migration, said Davis.
“One of the best ways to make really strong, healthy monarchs is to simply leave them alone in the wild,” he said.