Essay On Monarch Butterfly

The monarch butterfly is a beautiful butterfly that is well known for its large migration from places all over the continent to California and Mexico. They make this migration during the fall in order to make it to Mexico and California before the cold weather strikes. If the butterflies were to get caught in the cold weather they would not be able to survive. Monarchs who reside east of the Rocky Mountains will migrate to Mexico and hibernate in oyamel fir trees. Those who live west of the Rocky Mountains will migrate to Southern California and hibernate in eucalyptus trees. Another reason for the monarch migration besides not being able to withstand the cold is the food they need to survive does not grow in the cold weather. The monarch’s scientific name is Danaus plexippus. Monarch’s are found all over North American and are often referred to as the “king” of butterflies because of their beauty. These butterflies are patterned black, orange, and white which warns predators that they are poisonous. Monarch butterflies are ecologically important because they are pollinators. Since monarchs migrate they are able to pollinate plants throughout their trip. In recent times there has been a decline in the number of monarch butterflies that exist throughout North America. This decline has …show more content…
Deforestation is the mass destruction forests on our earth. Deforestation is killing the monarch butterflies natural habitats and most likely the milkweed plants as well. As I talked about early the monarchs have specific trees that they hibernate in once they have migrated to California or Mexico is likely that deforestation is ruining many of these trees which leaves the monarchs with a lot fewer trees to hibernate in. According to research conducted between 2012-2013 the data shows that there has been a 43.7% decrease in the amount of land that the monarchs occupy in and around