The Monarch butterfly population has decreased by 86% just this year, decreasing over 99% since the 1980s. This means that, while there were roughly 4,500,000 Monarch butterflies then, there is an estimated 29,000 Monarch butterflies left in the world today. Research shows that there are two major contributors to the decline in Monarch population. One of these major causes is the lack of Milkweed.

Milkweed is actually the only plant on which Monarch butterflies can repopulate, so without this plant, it is literally impossible for the Monarch population to survive. This is because Milkweed is the host plant for Monarch butterflies. Simply put, if the milkweed population continues to decline, the endangered butterfly species will be unable to repopulate, and die out. This is why Milkweed is so important! It's easy to plant, and in just a few steps, you can do your part to help increase Milkweed growth and #SaveTheMonarchs.

*Make sure to plant Milkweed in sunlight, as host plants must be in the sun. When you plant the host plants, female butterflies smell them and find them. The male butterflies find the females, and the butterflies thrive.

Milkweed in the United States:

*Researched Information Courtesy of the National Wildlife Federation Blog, The Guardian, CNN, and Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution*