Monarch butterflies face three major threats:

1. Illegal logging in the forests of their overwintering sites

• Monarchs need mountain forests in Mexico for their winter habitat, however nearby human communities also rely on them and create pressure on forests through agriculture and tourism activities

 

 2. Decline of milkweeds plants in their habitat and along migratory routes

• In Canada and the U.S., monarchs need places to reproduce and feed. The primary threat to the survival of monarchs, according to scientists, is the use of glyphosate on crops which has wiped out much of the native milkweeds that these butterflies lay their eggs on and is the only food source for their larvae.

 

 3. Climate change

• Climate change threatens to disrupt the monarch’s annual migration pattern by affecting weather conditions both in wintering and summer breeding grounds

 

The WWF’s 2013-14 report from Mexico showed that the population of monarch butterflies wintering there was at its absolute lowest in 20 years. The three lowest overwintering popoulations have been recorded in the past 10 years. An all-time low of 0.67 hectares was recorded last winter (2013-2014).