Danaus plexippus is a species of butterfly that has orange wings with black stripes. They are about 10 cm wide and are creatures that remind us of the true beauty of nature. But they are also an endangered species whose population has dramatically decreased over the last two decades. The monarch butterfly population which used to be over a million has now decreased to less than thirty thousand. There are several reasons why this is happening: loss of habitat, climate change, parasites and diseases, illegal trade, UV radiation, air pollution, and pesticides.
Climate change is the main cause of most deaths for monarch butterflies. Monarch butterflies are dependent on temperature because they need the right temperature to migrate, hibernate, and most importantly, reproduce. Monarch butterflies reproduce and rely heavily on a plant called milkweed because the larvae of the butterfly exclusively consume the leaves of a milkweed plant and nothing else. That is the reason why full-grown butterflies migrate to places where the milkweed plants grow and lay their eggs underneath the leaves of the plant. But milkweed plants only grow in places with warm temperatures. However, because of climate change, the milkweed population has dramatically decreased. This caused the population of monarch butterflies as well because they could not reproduce. The weather can also directly impact monarch butterflies as well because they cannot survive in extremely hot or cold temperatures and extreme weather.
But not all hope is lost because people can prevent these beautiful species of butterflies from going extinct. Avoid using pesticides, plant native milkweed, and try to prevent climate change such as using less environment-harming transportation or saving electricity, donating to charity to help save these species, and posting on social media and let other people know the tragedy of these beautiful species that were once roaming around our planet freely.
Sadly, monarch butterflies aren’t the only species about to go extinct. Other species are sadly becoming extinct because of climate change which happened because of us, humans. We must take immediate action and not just watch these beautiful creatures die at our hands. As generations go by, humanity may forget the existence of these beautiful creatures that once roamed around our planet. Animals are becoming extinct mostly because of climate change and hunting which is our actions. Therefore, we should take responsibility for our actions and help make the animal population return to its normal state. There are already animals that became extinct because of us such as the African Black Rhino, the Great Auk, the Caspian Tiger, the Giant Moa, the Golden Toad, and much more. Some of one’s animals they love may become extinct if this keeps going and we should take action to prevent this immediately and if not….