Endangered monarch butterflies warrant cross-cultural distress

On July 21, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) declared the migratory monarch butterfly endangered, marking another devastating milestone in the negligence of our planet and the effect of industrialism on climate change.

**How bad is it?**

Factors such as the rising global temperatures, the overuse of pesticides and herbicides and the skyrocketing development of real estate on top of native prairie and grasslands have contributed to the declining number of returning monarchs to and from their migration homes in Mexico and Southern California. According to the IUCN, it is estimated that their population has decreased “…by an estimated 99.9%, from as many as 10 million to 1,914 butterflies between the 1980s and 2021.” Joining species such as the ring-tailed lemur, mountain gorilla and red panda, monarchs are one of the newest recipients of the worst title known to biologists and environmentalists alike: endangered, threatened and on the verge of extinction.

**Why is this important?**

There are many reasons why people should care more about this specific loss of life, but the two most prominent ones are pollination and cultural symbolism. First, butterflies of all kinds are amazing cross-pollinators who help to create and sustain beautiful wildflowers, fruits, vegetables and so much more.

These small insects pave the way for a brighter future as they pollinate all the way across their 3000-mile journey—this is what makes them so vital! Without their support, ecosystems across the world would be distraught. Second, there is a deeply rooted history that connects these monarchs with Mexican and Mexican American cultures. While the migration of these beautiful beings may be impressive to some, the meaning behind their long journey has a symbolic foundation in Mexican ancestry that predates colonialism and is represented and documented in indigenous paintings and carvings.

To some, seeing the swarms of butterflies arrive in Mexico reflects the returning souls of loved ones, and to others, this yearly mosaic of black and orange symbolizes returning soldiers that were killed in a battle. These cultural ties to nature are examples of how intersectional our lives are with the environment. While the decreasing population of monarch butterflies directly affects pollination, there are just as important impacts on cultural traditions, practices and beliefs that revolve around identity, life and death/the afterlife which extend the importance beyond individual gain and loss and creates bridges into cultures other than your own.

**What is action is being taken?**

Sadly, many animals on the endangered species list receive little federal support due to the prolonged sidebar of multiple environmentally conscious acts, yet certain trailblazers such as the Monarch Action, Recovery and Conservation of Habitat Act of 2021 are paving the way to protect these amazing creatures. Outside of Congress, movements to restore yards to native pollinator gardens and prairies have grown substantially in the past 10 years. These efforts are guided to produce native milkweed, the plant monarch butterflies lay their eggs on that later feed upon it, to give back this land to those who truly occupied it before us: insects.

Although the monarch butterfly’s story is all too familiar, we can take a few lessons from these beautiful creatures: even a delicate life-form like the monarch can make a difference, one so big that it influences how cultures view concepts such as souls and the afterlife.

We also learn that we should act more like monarch butterflies, especially when we strive to enact social change, because they teach us that there is more that unites us through nature than separates us, and losing a figure as powerful as that would crush hope for a better world—if we can’t keep these insects from going extinct, how can we manage to reform health care, feed the hungry, give people back the right to bodily autonomy and eliminate the threat of mass shootings?