280 days of Urbpandemonium #181
One of North America's largest and most beautiful butterflies might be on the ropes. The monarch butterfly Danaus plexippus* has two big challenges: it migrates halfway across the continent, and it relies on an agricultural pest plant to survive. Deforestation of its southern wintering spot and industrial control of its host plant are converging to make life tough for an insect recognized as state insect or state butterfly for seven US states.
This individual and several like it that I saw in the Missouri Botanical Garden was among the very few I've seen this year. Citizen science is catching up with anecdotal evidence to prove that the population of monarch butterflies is plummeting. We should all plant milkweed in our yards, and hope that the orange giant is with us for years to come.
*Danaüs = Greek myth a king of Argos who told his fifty daughters, the Danaides, to kill their bridegrooms on their wedding night
Plexippus = In Greek mythology, Plexippus or Plexippos (Πλήξιππος) is a name that refers to:
A son of Thestius, who, together with his brother Toxeus, participated in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar. He was angry that the prize of the boar's hide had been given to a woman (Atalanta) by his nephew Meleager, who then killed him in the ensuing argument.
A son of Phineus and Cleopatra, brother of Pandion. He and his brother were blinded by Phineus at the instigation of their stepmother Idaea.
One of the sons of Aegyptus. He married (and was killed by) Amphicomone, daughter of Danaus.
A son of the Arcadian king Choricus, brother of Enetus and Palaestra.