On the edge of the waters at the Abbott Mill Nature Centre in Delford, a monarch butterfly rests on a milkweed plant.
Monarch butterfly, scientific name Danaus plexippus, also known as monarch butterfly, is one of the most famous butterflies in the world. The butterfly population has been decreasing as habitats have deteriorated, and the species has been rated near threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List.
Over the past 20 years, the number of this butterfly has decreased by 90%
The monarch butterflies, which are found in eastern North America, regularly undergo large-scale migrations, and every August, the first waves of monarch butterflies begin to migrate south, until the last wave of the first frost stops, and these butterflies fly south to Mexico, where they overwinter until the following spring. During the winter, these butterflies gather densely and spread over a small area.
As a result of the large-scale use of genetically modified crops, the proportion of herbicides sprayed in the field has increased greatly – as a weed, the number of male tendons has naturally decreased dramatically. Such changes will not only affect the feeding of monarch butterfly larvae, but also make adult butterflies encounter difficulties in the spawning process
There have been previous rumors that genetically modified corn pollen could cause a large number of deaths in North America, the monarch butterfly. But this claim has not been confirmed. Since the 20th century, insects are accelerating extinction, and humans need to change to protect the environment!