In Texas, monarch butterfly populations have been in steady decline.
As The Texas Observer notes, while these beautiful orange and black butterflies used to be plentiful in the Lone Star State, in recent years their numbers have dropped by 90%.
Researchers believe that there’s a solid chance their population could grow so low over the next 20 years that the species will never recover.
The culprits? Climate change, deforestation, and rampant use of pesticides and herbicides. Plus, the prevalence of milkweed plant in Texas is dwindling.
The milkweed is the only plant in which monarchs will lay their eggs—and the plant is notoriously difficult to grow.
Butterfly experts insist that one of the things we could best do for the butterflies is have native milkweed available wherever they might land.
