Butterflies will be challenged by Texas drought & extreme heat during fall migration
reposted from https://cbsaustin.com/
Butterflies are facing a challenging fall migration through Texas after the drought and extreme summer temperatures. This latest hurdle comes on the heels of a dramatic drop in monarch butterfly populations over the past three decades.
“Well, there are just a few. There is just a starter bunch,” said John Dromgoole, owner of The Natural Gardener, as he walked through the butterfly garden.
Dromgoole says he’s recently spotted the first monarch butterflies that are using Austin as a rest stop on their fall migration from Southern Canada down to Mexico. He created the flower-filled retreat to help them survive a trip that can stretch well over 2,000 miles. In the garden, the plants are regularly watered. But across Texas, the summer drought and a record number of 100-degree days are drying up some of the state’s nectar supply.
“One of the things the extreme temperatures have done is set some of the plants back,” said Dromgoole.
He’s hoping for more rain before monarchs flutter into a garden that is already filled with queen, swallowtail, and snout butterflies.
“What a lot of people are seeing right now are the snouts,” said Kirk Alston, plant buyer for The Natural Gardener. “We’re seeing literally billions of snouts that are making this migration.”
The monarchs won’t make their migration through the Austin area for another few weeks.
“They all converge through the I-35 corridor through Texas and down into to the Sierra Madre Mountains in Mexico,” said Kirk Alston, plant buyer for The Natural Gardener. “We usually see a peak for the monarchs the last two weeks of October and the first two weeks of November.”
This is a queen butterfly that is similar to the monarch but has a smaller wingspan and a more solid orange color. (Photo: Bettie Cross)
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Climate change, habitat loss and herbicide use are continuing to threaten butterfly populations. The dramatic decline in numbers is why pollinator gardens are being dug into the landscape along a 300-mile-wide path from Wichita Falls to Eagle Pass. TXDOT planted native milkweeds and nectar plants at rest areas along Interstate-35 to give butterflies created habitats. Those pollinator waystations and other gardens have helped grow butterfly populations over the past few years. But this fall they may be no match for the hot, dry weather.
“We’re expecting a decline again, just because of the drought and the lack of food sources and nectar sources for the butterflies,” said Alston.
Alston still has confidence a good number of monarch butterflies will funnel through Texas to Mexico, but he says every backyard and balcony can help improve the landscape for fall and spring migrations.
Butterflies will be challenged by Texas drought & extreme heat during fall migration
“The easiest way is to scatter some milkweed seeds, a native species,” said Alston.
Milkweed is the only plant on which monarchs lay their eggs. It’s the priority plant in the spring and summer. In the fall, the butterflies need to load up on nectar which in many parts of Texas is in short supply.
“There will be some competition for food and moisture, for sure. But I don’t think that will do any major damage to them,” said Dromgoole.
The real impact will be measured this winter when a butterfly count is done in Mexico. Until then, experts say to keep this in mind.
“They’re heartier than we are,” said Dromgoole.
The monarch population has been in steady decline, and recently the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) placed the monarch on its Red List of threatened species, classifying it as endangered.