Monarch Population Surges 64%: Why We Can't Stop Now

As recent headlines celebrate a 64% increase in monarch butterfly populations, many may wonder: is this the turning point for these vital pollinators? In this episode, host Rick Schwartz explores what this increase means, the ongoing challenges monarchs face, and how you can take action to support their conservation.

While the increase in monarch populations is encouraging, it is critical to remain vigilant in conservation efforts. Monarchs are still at risk, and their recovery requires ongoing support and action from all of us. It’s not time to celebrate and move on but rather to continue our efforts to protect these vital pollinators.

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Music: Positive Carefree Folk Pop

Artist: Burgberg

Used with Full Music Standard Lic.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Well, isn't there just a bunch of sh stuff going on in the world today? The last couple of weeks, the last couple of months, and in the mix of all that middle of March, a headline came out that monarch butterflies population has increased by 64%. That is massive. That is huge. That is awesome. One less thing we have to worry about. Or is that completely accurate? I'm Rick Schwartz, educator, public speaker, and all-around curious guy. Over the years, my curiosity and experiences, along with the many people I've worked with, revealed to me we all have a desire to feel connected to the natural world. You're listening to Animals, Nature and You, a podcast that explores the connection between animals, nature, and humans. A podcast that celebrates learning more, following our curiosity, and reconnecting with the natural world. Welcome to another episode of 10 Minute Tuesday here on Animals, Nature and You. I'm your host, Rick Schwartz, and today's topic, as you might have guessed, is about monarch butterflies. And it ties in a little bit to last week's episode on Thursday. We interviewed Griff Griffith. He talked a lot about the importance of native plants, keeping native plants going in your area, whether it's your place of business, your place of worship, your school, your own yard, or even your patio. And he also then hinted towards the importance of being able to show off your bite marks. In other words, not insect bites on your skin, but on your plants, because that means caterpillars are there, and caterpillars become moths and butterflies. They help with pollination. Plus, caterpillar populations do help mother birds and father birds if they're part of the program, feeding their babies, and it keeps the ecosystem going appropriately. So, with that, in the mix of all that, there was also an article that came out, and of course it was put on social media as a certain headline that monarch populations have come back by 64%. And that is accurate, but there are more details there that I want you to pay attention to. And the reason I'm bringing this up, in my experience, many, many years of working in wildlife conservation and wildlife education, there are good news stories and they are important to share and they are important to highlight. But we also have to be careful that although they are good for pointing us towards that space of hope, that space of encouragement that conservation does work, we want to make sure it doesn't mean we go, okay, well, that problem's been solved. On to the next one, because monarchs still desperately need our help, as all native wildlife does. So today's episode is going to be about the monarch butterfly. Now, to jump into it, I've got my side computer here, and I want to share with you real quick. So the story, and I'll put the link for this, it's the World Wildlife Federation. They they put out the story on March 17th, and it is so cool because here, here it says that there the increase of species population is significant by 64% in the uh, and this is in Mexico, where they they overwinter in the forest. But I want to give you some perspective here. So this year, scientists found monarchs occupied 7.24 acres of forests compared to the 4.24 acres of the previous winter. That's your 64% increase there. And this is the eastern population of migrating monarchs, okay? That is big. That is big when you look at that. That increase, 7.24% acres versus the 4.42% of the acres. That's huge. I scroll down further, though, and realize that just 30 years ago, monarchs covered nearly 45 acres of the forest. So when you get perspective as to how much has happened in the last few decades, it kind of changes that narrative in the sense that this is important to understand. We have lost a massive amount of a pollinating species over the last couple of decades. And although 64% is a really big and important number, when you look at the bigger picture, it is a small click in the right direction of conservation for the species. And I don't want to sound like I'm poo-pooing it. I don't want to sound like I'm saying, well, that's no big deal. It is a huge deal. It is so big. A jump of 64%, no matter how big or small the population is, is important. What that shows me, and what I hope that shows the general public, is it's not time to stop doing things for the monarch butterflies. It's not time to stop thinking about do we plant milkweed and other plants that are going to be beneficial for the migrating monarchs. It is not time to stop thinking about the insecticides and pesticides that we put out there because not only does it affect then the bugs you're trying to prevent eating the crop, it also then gets into the soil, gets into the water, gets into other plants, and impacts other species like the monarch butterfly. We have to keep thinking about that. We have to keep pushing forward. This is our identifier that these things are important, that these things work, and we need to keep doing the work. And this goes back to conversations that happened in 2016 and also in 2021. So back in 2016, there were the there was the initial effort and the initial acknowledgement that giant pandas should come off the endangered species list. This was after 40 years of conservation work, 40 years of them being the the icon of endangered species, right? And now all of a sudden remove them from the endangered species list. And a lot of people had issues with that. And I looking at the data and talking to the scientists that I knew and the researchers that I knew, it made sense to bring them off into the position of vulnerable and off of endangered. Does that mean the work stops? Does that mean we stop looking at deforestation issues in the bamboo forest? Does it mean we stop breeding programs? No, absolutely not. It means those things are working and now the population is trending in the right direction. The way I see this monarch butterfly thing, it's the same way. They are not free from the space of being an endangered species possibly going extinct. What we're seeing is the people out there, you listening and watching, you communicating the importance of this is important. What Griff was saying in last week's episode about the need to make sure we're planting local plants, native plants, taking care of native spaces, that all plays into then the care and conservation for things like the monarch. Now, here's some here's some fun facts about monarchs for you. I think this is fascinating. When monarchs come back up from Mexico over winter and into the spring, then into North America, the ones that you see, they're laying eggs in the milkweed. They need to keep their population going because they don't migrate up and back and up and back. The ones that migrate up from Mexico were hatched out, were born, whatever you want to call it, the end of last year. So the and so this is 2026 right now, and this episode's coming out. So we'll use the species that are coming up now from the overnight spaces or overnight, overwinter spaces, excuse me, in Mexico. They were hatched out the end of last year, 2025, that that late summer, early fall before they migrated down. They over, they overnight, gosh, I'm gonna say it again, they overwinter in Mexico in the forest down there where these measurements were taken, where that 64% increase was seen, and they come back up. They lay eggs, they mate, they lay eggs, they die. Their life cycle's over. The next series that hatch out don't make that migration. They stay in this space. They're in North America, wherever you might be, whether it's here in California, where I am, whether it's Washington State, Minnesota, New York, Maine, up in Canada, any of those places where they all migrate to during the summer months. Those individuals only live anywhere from two to six weeks. They, the life cycle is much shorter. As they go through the summer, monarchs will breed, lay eggs, and die, breed, lay eggs and die. Those will grow up, breed, lay eggs, and die all the way through the summer, multiple times, anywhere from three to five times before the last generation of that year, end of summer, beginning of fall, will then migrate down and live anywhere from six to nine months to do that. That's insane to me. Because when you look at migrations in general, like let's take wilder bees across Africa or birds that migrate back and forth, they live for several years, right? So if you're hatched into that, that uh almost said herd, hatched into that flock, hatched into that species as a bird, or if you're born into the wilder bees or zebra herds of Africa, as those migrations happen, you learn from your elders. You have multiple years of doing it. There's there's someone to follow. Monarch butterflies are third to fifth generation hatched, born whatever, away from the last migration before they migrate down to Mexico. It's freaking fascinating. I don't care who you are. I mean, I I've never studied entomology. I've been entomology adjacent most of my career. I've worked with mammals, birds, and reptiles. I've known some great entomologists, and I've learned so much from them, but it it never ceases to fascinate me. So the value in what we're seeing in the monarch population boost is a small little step compared to their previous populations, but it's a step in the right direction. It's a step that should tell you that this work needs to continue. It's a step that says, look, find out how to get proper native milkweed for your region and plant it in your yard. Keep it in a pot in your yard, whatever it might be, wherever you may be along the migratory path of these monarchs, recognize depending upon the time of year, that monarch may never make that journey, but its offspring, or maybe its offspring's offspring, will make that journey. And if you're in the southern parts of the North America, like I am, I'm in San Diego, the value of also planting butterfly-friendly plants and also making sure you don't use pesticides and insecticides that also then can affect them. Because this is the thing. The idea initially behind these certain pesticides and insecticides is to make sure these other insects don't eat our crops or damage our plants. But it doesn't, it's non-discriminatory. It shows up in the roots, it shows up in the leaves, it shows up in the flowers, it shows up in the nectar. So butterflies, bees, and other animals are impacted heavily by these pesticides and insecticides. So do everything you can to not use them in your yard or your property or your potted plants while you set up these stations for migratory butterflies to hang out, refuel, and head back one way or the other. And then also pay attention to your food. Be a conscious consumer, talk to your local government, write letters, write emails. These things do matter. When we speak up and say, hey, look, we don't want these things. These are important when it comes to wildlife conservation, when it comes to environmental education and the work we want to do to make sure we preserve these animals. And the thing I'll wrap up on, I know we're already getting past the 10-minute mark for our 10-minute Tuesday. These monarchs are important, not just because they're iconic, not just because there are so many cultures that look at butterflies and see them as a spiritual connection to our history, whether it's the people we'd loved and known, or whether it's just knowing that there used to be a mass migration of these species coming and going from north to south. I mean, I remember when I was a kid, monarchs were all over the place in Southern California. And now I'm lucky to see a couple per year. And yeah, that might just be like, well, Rick, you're being nostalgic. What does it matter? Monarchs play an important role for pollination of all species, the food we eat along with all of our local plants, which then plays into the bigger picture of the ecosystem. And I know most of you who are listening probably already know this, but I want to share it because also I want you to talk about it. I want you to have the knowledge and information to share with others when they ask why I should care. Monarchs also are a food source. Yes, they are brightly colored to say, hey, you don't want to eat meat, I'm poisonous, but there are some bird species that have figured out to eat certain parts of them. Also, I learned myself today while doing a little bit of research on this, when the monarch passes away naturally, there are small mammal species that will take advantage of the corpse of that butterfly as a nutritional source. So they play an important role, not just amongst pollinating all these other plants beyond milkweed, not just being a food source for other species, but they're an important part of our culture as well. And they're worth saving, as are all species. So, with that, I'm going to wrap it up. I'm going to put links down below as I always do to make sure you know how you can find this information, all these different websites. And of course, there'll be links then for you to find me if you want to get in touch. ZoologyRick.com is my website, and then at zoology rick on most social media. And of course, Animals, Nature, and You is on Instagram. You're welcome to connect there as well. Always good to see you guys and connect and say hello, leave any messages or comments that you like. I appreciate it. Also, do want to do a shout-out real quick. This coming Thursday, after this episode comes out, doing a special collaboration with John Rossi. He's a great guy. Great conversation, so much fun. He had me on his podcast. I'm having him on my podcast. So I want to make sure you tune into that as well, which plays into the next thing I want to say. Make sure you follow and subscribe wherever you're listening or watching to this, watching to this, listening to this podcast or watching on YouTube or anywhere else. If you haven't already, please hit subscribe or follow so you don't miss any of the upcoming episodes. We have so many great guests coming up. I've got all sorts of things lined up for the rest of the year. And of course, every Tuesday we have the 10-minute Tuesdays like today, where we take a particular topic and kind of dial in a little bit. And then every Thursday is our interviews with our awesome guests. So with that, I'm going to wrap it up. Thank you all so much for being here. Have a good one, everybody.