The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is encouraging people to help the monarch butterfly population.
It said the monarch population is in decline, so it's asking the public and scientists to track and report monarch sightings.
“If some evil demon caused all butterflies to be extinct tomorrow, it wouldn’t be the end of the world, but it would be very sad,” said Dr. Arthur Shapiro, a professor at UC Davis.
Shapiro is keeping track of butterfly populations in Northern California. He said monarchs aren’t the only populations on the decline.
“The fact is, we don’t really know why. What we do know, however, is that it’s not just monarchs,” Shapiro said.
He said it’s possible there are a number of factors that could be contributing to the decline.
“The three basic factors that are probably involved, and not in any particular order, are climate, habitat change and pesticides,” Shapiro said.
Anyone who sees a monarch butterfly can report the sighting on the Western Monarch Milkweed Mapper website.
Source: KRCA3, Full Article
