What’s Black & Orange, Flies In South Dakota & Minnesota, Now Endangered?

If you are one of the many who enjoy planting attractor perennials to bring birds and butterflies to your backyard you're not alone.

One of our favorite winged visitors is now on the endangered list as numbers of the beautiful orange and black Monarch butterfly have dwindled over the years.

According to a report published by PBS, the butterflies are imperiled by loss of habitat and increased use of herbicides and pesticides for agriculture, as well as climate change.

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The Monarch butterfly has been added to the endangered species list

We have planted several flowering plants to attract butterflies and hummingbirds such as Bee Balm, Stokesia, Phlox, Salvia, and Dahlia.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature added the migrating Monarch butterfly for the first time to its “red list” of threatened species and categorized it as “endangered” — two steps from extinct.

In North America, millions of Monarch butterflies undertake the longest migration of any insect species known to science.

After wintering in the mountains of central Mexico, the butterflies migrate to the north, breeding multiple generations along the way for thousands of miles. The offspring that reach southern Canada then begin the trip back to Mexico at the end of summer.

The caterpillars depend on Milkweed. We see this growing wild throughout South Dakota and Minnesota along ditches and pastures.

The United States has not listed Monarch butterflies under the Endangered Species Act, but several environmental groups believe it should be listed.

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