The Apalachicola National
Estuarine Research Reserve has completed its 14th year of tagging migrating
Monarch butterflies along the Apalachicola causeway bridge.
This year, staff and volunteers captured and tagged 1,213
of the butterflies before releasing them to continue their migration to Mexico.
The tags help researchers collect migration information and
determine the influence of weather on the migration and the overall survival
status of Monarchs.
In addition to Monarch tagging, the Apalachicola Research
Reserve education staff also conducted five separate Monarch tagging
demonstrations with 121 students and staff from Franklin County Schools, grades
pre-K through 7.
Research indicates the Monarch population has declined up to 90
percent due to various factors such as habitat loss, land management
practices and some types of chemically aided agriculture.
The loss of quality breeding habitat due to increased use of
herbicide-tolerant crops has been particularly harmful because the butterfly’s
host plant (milkweeds) has been essentially eliminated in the agricultural
landscape where they were once abundant.
There are many things people can do to help increase the Monarch
population.
One of the easiest and most helpful options is to create
breeding habitat for Monarchs by planting milkweed that is native to Florida.
Native milkweed is the only food source that Monarch butterflies
will feed on and there are numerous species of native milkweed to choose from.
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