Source::IUCN Red List of Endangered Species/Image :Yichuan Cao/NurPhoto
Scientists listed the iconic orange-and-black bug as endangered on Thursday due to its rapidly declining numbers; the monarch butterfly flitted one step closer to extinction.
The migratory monarch butterfly was listed as "endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature for the first time on its "red list" of threatened species. They also estimated that the population of monarch butterflies in North America has declined between 22% and 72% over the last ten years.
Migratory monarch butterflies have been severely impacted by climate change. Drought reduces milkweed growth and increases the frequency of catastrophic wildfires, resulting in high temperatures forcing butterflies to migrate earlier before milkweed is available, killing millions of butterflies.
Nick Haddad, a conservation biologist at Michigan State University, shared, "It’s very easy to imagine how quickly this butterfly could become even more imperilled."
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