Monarch butterflies are a familiar sight in late summer and fall here in Louisville, as they travel thousands of miles on their journey to Mexico. Their numbers have fluctuated in recent years, and some reports suggest they may be rebounding. But there are still questions about their long-term survival and the habitat they rely on here in Kentucky.
I spoke with Michaela Rogers, a wildlife biologist with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, to check in on the status of monarch populations, what restoration looks like in our state, and how Kentuckians can support their journey.
Ayisha Jaffer: What shifts are you seeing in monarch populations here in Kentucky and on the national level?
Michaela Rogers: Monarch populations vary a lot year to year. Last year, in the winter, when we got the counts back from Mexico, the population was quite low. This year, we're cautiously optimistic that we're seeing a higher population. But we really don't know year to year until all of the butterflies are counted in central Mexico. So overall, a downward shift over the past 20 years. But then we do have some years where we get some small increases. So we're hopeful.
AJ: And you've been part of tagging programs, including one hosted by Kentucky Wild where hundreds of monarchs have been tracked. What has that work revealed, and what trends stand out to you?
MR: We do tagging programs every year. Of course we do the Kentucky Wild tagging program where we get some of our members out and try to tag butterflies on the landscape. We catch them, we put a small sticker on them so that if they're recovered somewhere, either within the U.S. or when they are at their overwintering grounds in Mexico, they can be identified again.
We coordinate tagging throughout different agencies and groups, and everybody kind of had a low year last year. But prior years, like three years ago, that same monarch event had over 65 monarchs tagged just in that one day. Some years, all of our total group that does the tagging had 400 to 500 monarchs throughout all of us submitting our data. Last year was quite low, like less than 100 or maybe it was 125 or something like that. So you can really see which years are the lower years. And last year it seemed like definitely the very dry weather that hit during the migration and the drought really just gave monarchs a challenging year.
AJ: What kinds of restoration or habitat projects are underway in Kentucky right now to support monarchs and other pollinators that share their habitat?
MR: One of our biggest things is to try to get more milkweed out on the ground. We’re encouraging and educating people as much as possible, handing out seed packets with milkweed seeds and other nectar-producing plants — wildflowers that monarch butterflies need to feed on. We have tried to, as much as possible whenever we can, do pollinator plantings in different partnership projects or on some of our wildlife management areas to physically be putting more food sources out on the ground for monarch butterflies.
AJ: Yeah, and that’s essentially what I was going to ask next. How can people — individually, Kentuckians who want to support the monarchs on their journey — find simple ways to support that community and keep those populations healthy?
MR: So think about it. If we’re taking a massive road trip, if we’re driving from Kentucky to central Mexico, we’re going to have to stop a whole bunch of different places for food to fuel up on our way down. It’s the same with the monarch butterfly. It needs to make this massive journey. It could be traveling for up to two months. It needs those little places where it can come down and get a drink of nectar from flower resources, basically.
So if you can plant plants that are naturally growing in your area, plant those in your yard and give them somewhere to stop and get food on their migration. That’s one of the biggest things you can do to support them.
