Monarch Butterfly Added to Engangered Species List

Monarch Butterfly populations have been devastated over the last past few decades. Find out why the IUCN has added these iconic pollinators to the endangered species list and how scientists are working to save them from extinction.

I haven’t seen a monarch butterfly at the cottage for many years. It’s sad, and not only because they’re iconic and beautiful.

When our family first built our cottage back in the 70s, the Bruce Peninsula forest was thick with the monarch’s orange-and-black wings. They’re probably the best known butterfly in this part of the world because of their size and striking appearance.

Migrate Annually from as Far South as South America

When the cottage was new, we developed the habit of looking up all the species we came across in field guides. In the case of the monarch butterflies, I remember my mother being astounded that “a little thing like that” migrated annually from as far as South America to our neck of the woods in Southern Ontario.

Even so, they make the hazardous migration south every fall, travelling as many as 4,000 kilometres along the way. Then, later generations head up to the northeastern US and southern Canada each spring.