From North America started disappearing butterflies
One of the most well-known butterflies in North America, the monarch (Danaus plexippus), began to disappear from the Western United States.
The details of the study, researchers from the University of Washington can be found in Biological Conservation.
“The populations of monarch of the monarch in the West are declining more rapidly than in the East. In the 1980-ies about 10 million members of the species wintered in coastal California. Today there are almost 300 thousand,” — said study author Cheryl Schultz.
Like the Eastern monarch, the monarchs that overwinter in Mexico, their Western congeners to overwinter in wooded groves along coastal California, and then in the spring fly to Arizona, Nevada and other States. In the autumn they return for the winter.
The exact causes of the decline in the number of monarch monarch in the West are not yet clear. According to the researchers, adverse factors could be the gradual development of territories, the use of pesticides and climate change.
Service of protection of fish resources and wild animals of the USA currently considering whether to bring danaida of the monarch in the list of endangered species. Scientists fear that if you do not take steps to restore the population, the monarch, the monarchs could disappear in the West in the next few decades.