MONARCH SURVIVAL: Milkweed for survival of monarch 
butterflies ... ahead on Passport to Texas. 

This is Passport to Texas

The Monarch butterfly population is in decline.

06 -- The current thought is that it's actually several different 
factors that are contributing to the decline that we're seeing.

Ben Hutchins is an invertebrate biologist with Texas 
Parks and Wildlife. 

16 -- Historically, one of the big issues was deforestation in the 
forests in a couple of states in Mexico where the monarchs 
overwinter. We've also had really cold weather at those 
overwintering sites, and also some prolonged [drought and] hot 
weather up here in the United States. 

Butterfly habitat is inadequate along their migration 
routes. Milkweed plants are the monarch's preferred 
nectar and host plants. Citizens who grow milkweed in 
their landscapes can help support monarch migration.

17 -- Those [milkweed] can be used by monarchs. But, we're 
really starting to try to push that people are really conscious 
about which species of milkweed they're planting. We're 
advocating to look at what's native to your area and plant 
regional appropriate milkweeds.

Hutchins says we need to plant more than milkweeds; a 
diversity of plant species will attract more monarchs and 
other pollinators, and provide them with the food and 
shelter they need for their long journey.

Find more monarch information on the Texas Parks and 
Wildlife website.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife ... I'm Cecilia Nasti. 






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