Monarch butterflies have always been remarkably resilient.
Monarch butterflies have always been remarkably resilient. Every fall, these delicate orange-and-black travelers set out on a journey so improbable it borders on myth, flying some three thousand kilometers from Canadian fields all the way to Mexico’s mountain forests, their overwintering grounds. They’ve been weathering habitat loss, extreme weather and pesticides, but new research from the University of Ottawa suggests a new snag in their epic trek. The culprit? Nectar. Turns out, their main food source isn’t what it used to be.
During summer 2023, a team of scientists led by Heather Kharouba, Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Ottawa and University Research Chair in Global Change Ecology, set up a simple but revealing experiment. Instead of only focusing on the butterflies, they also looked at the plants the monarchs depend on during migration.
Read More at: University of Ottawa
Photo Credit: PublicDomainPictures via Pixabay
