DEVOTED TO THE MANAGEMENT AND INFORMATION DISSEMINATION OF WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE POLLINATOR WORLD.

Good News for Eastern Monarch Butterfly Population

The latest numbers for the eastern monarch butterfly pop-ulation have just been re-leased and posted by Monarch Watch, and there’s some good news to report. The species has experienced a precipi-tous decline over the last twenty years, but going into 2019 the population is 144 percent larger than last year and higher than it’s been in over a decade. While the western monarch popula-tion continues to decline, this is an encouraging sign that favorable weather condi-tions coupled with the work of cities, farmers and individu-

al gardeners to plant native milkweed and nectar plants could be paying off for the eastern population.

We still have a lot of work to do — including creating more habitat, reducing the use of harmful pesticides and ad-dressing climate change — but this is a good indicator that our work is starting to show results.

The species will remain a fo-cus for the National Wildlife Federation. You can get in-volved by planting a wildlife habitat garden to help mon-archs.

Important News:

Monarch Butterfly

Eastern and Western 2018 Counts…………….1

Upcoming Pollinator Grant Opportunities….3

Webinars………….…..…4

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NMFWA PollWG

Here is the chart tracking the numbers of the eastern monarch population over the last few decades, courtesy of Monarch Watch.

Record Low Number of Overwintering Monarch Butterflies in California Working at a conservation nonprofit, Xerces Society, means that we often come across bad news, but the results from this winter’s Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count left us shocked: an all-time record low of 28,429 monarchs at 213 sites.

This number is an 86% drop from the previ-ous count done at Thanksgiving 2017, when 192,668 monarchs were counted at 263 sites (comparing only the sites moni-tored in both years)—and a dizzying 99.4% decline from the numbers present in the

1980s (Schultz et al. 2017). In short, only one of every 160 monarchs present in the 1980s exists today.

The Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count began when concerned scientists and citizens started counting overwintering monarchs 22 years ago—worried that mon-arch numbers were dropping. This long-term community-science effort continues to provide critical information that is used to track the size of the western monarch pop-ulation.

Once, millions of monarchs overwintered along the Pacific coast in California and Ba-ja, Mexico—an estimated 4.5 million in the 1980s. But by the mid-2010s, the population had declined by about 97%, and in 2018, the decline was that much more dramatic. The annual Xerces Western Monarch Thanksgiv-ing Count showed that the population hit a record low: Volunteers counted only 28,429 butterflies. This number is an 86% drop from the previous count done at Thanksgiving 2017, when 192,668 monarchs were count-ed at 263 sites (comparing only the sites

monitored in both years)—and a dizzy-ing 99.4% decline from the numbers present in the 1980s.

The scale of this decline is dramatic enough, but it also is significant due to what it may signify: 30,000 monarch butterflies is the number researchers set as their most edu-cated guess for the threshold at which the western monarch migration could collapse (Schultz et al. 2017). Whether or not the population can bounce back from this sea-son will only become apparent in the coming

months and years.

While this year’s numbers are alarming, the real issue is the longer-term monarch de-cline due to stressors such as habitat loss and degradation, pesticides, and climate change—as well as other pressures on the migratory cycle of the monarch that we still have yet to fully study or comprehend. There are no quick fixes to solve all these large and complex forces, but we can still take actions NOW to help save the western popu-lation.

It can be hard to wrap one’s mind around the scope of this decline. For every 160 monarch butterflies there were in the 1980s, there is only one left today. For a different sense of scale, the decline from 4.5 million to 28,429 monarchs is similar to the difference in size between Los Angeles and Monterey!

Top 5 Actions to Help Save Western Monarchs 1. Protect and manage California overwintering sites.

2. Restore breeding and migratory habitat in California.

3. Protect monarchs and their habitat from pesticides.

4. Protect, manage, and restore summer breeding and fall migration monarch habitat outside of California.

5. Answer key research questions about how to best aid western monarch recovery.

The effectiveness of western monarch conserva-tion efforts depends upon how many people get involved, and how rapidly they mobilize. Spread the word, including on social media. Use the hashtag #SaveWesternMonarchs on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to raise awareness!

#SaveWesternMonarchs

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NFWF anticipates releasing the Monarch Butterfly and Pollinators Conservation Fund 2019 Request for Proposals in early April 2019.

The Monarch Butterfly and Pollinators Conservation Fund supports work that advances the conservation of the monarch butterfly and other at-risk native insect pollinators. Originally named the Monarch Butterfly Conservation Fund, the fund added the term ‘Pollinators’ to its title in 2018 to reflect an increased focus on a broader set of priority species.

Competitive grants are awarded in two categories:

1. Habitat Improvement

Grants are awarded to projects that create and sustain interconnect-ed monarch and pollinator habitats to support annual life cycle needs. Priorities include: restoring and enhancing breeding and migration habitat to support ample milkweed and diverse nectar plants; protecting and improving overwintering habitat; and develop-ing sustainable and affordable supplies of native milkweed and nec-tar-producing plant seeds and seedlings that support habitat resto-ration efforts.

2. Outreach and Organizational Coordination

Grants are awarded to projects that increase capacity and coordina-tion among organizations, states, and regions engaged in monarch

and pollinator conservation. Priorities include: developing regional strategies and plans; building capacity and expertise; maximizing information exchange; and distributing information about on-the-ground conservation practices.

Since 2015, the fund has awarded $11.6 million to 75 projects that are helping conserve and recover the monarch butterfly while also benefiting other pollinator species. Grantees have matched this investment with an additional $18.4 million, for a total on-the-ground impact of more than $30 million. This investment has provided sup-port for:

Restoration/enhancement of 175,000 acres

Propagation of 785,000 native milkweed seedlings

Collection of 981 pounds of native milkweed seeds

Coordination of 913 workshops and meetings

Administered by NFWF, the Monarch Butterfly and Conservation Fund is a public–private partnership that receives funding and other support from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bayer Crop Sci-ence, Shell Oil Company, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Geologi-cal Survey, the Bureau of Land Management and the USDA's Natu-ral Resources Conservation Service.

Monarch Butterfly and Pollinators Conservation Fund

As one of the largest military training installations in the U.S. Army, Fort Hood has maintained a commitment to the environment. One of the ways they fulfill this commitment is through their Adap-tive and Integrative Management (AIM) Program. The AIM program provides long-term sustainability of training lands to support the military mission, protect mission-sensitive species, and promote environmental stewardship and conser-vation.

Monarchs pass through the over 200,000 acre training base every year during their fall and spring migrations. The AIM team is enacting the Fort Hood Monarch Mission, a conservation plan that focuses on research and monitoring,

education and outreach, partnerships, and habitat conservation and restoration.

“Fort Hood’s AIM Program is engaging youth, soldiers, and surrounding commu-nities in monarch conservation by creat-ing an atmosphere for learning,” said Jackelyn Ferrer-Perez, AIM Program Manager and Wildlife Biologist. “We are pleased to partner with the MJV as part of our work.”

“Monarch conservation requires an ‘all-hands-on-deck’ approach. The addition of Fort Hood’s AIM Program to the MJV Partnership is the perfect example of how everyone can contribute!” says Wendy Caldwell, MJV Executive Direc-tor.

Fort Hood partners with MJV

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We are excited to offer the 2019 Monarch Conservation Webinar Series, hosted by the Monarch Joint Venture and the USFWS Na-tional Conservation Training Center! To register, visit:

https://monarchjointventure.org/news-events/events

To see completed webinars, visit:

https://monarchjointventure.org/resources/monarch-conservation-webinar-series

Monarch Conservation Webinar Series

Most Costa's Humming-birds (Calypte costae) are year-round residents of western Arizona, southwestern Utah, southern Nevada, and southern California. Pre-ferred habitats include desert scrub, dry rocky hillsides full of cacti and thorny shrubs, California coastal shrub, and evergreen forest habitats up to 4,500 feet in elevation. Costa's Hummingbird uses urban and residential habitats, especially outside of breeding season.

Nesting habitats vary from trees to shrubs, or dense vines. Nests have even been constructed in dead yuc-ca (Yucca species) stalks, branching cacti (Cylindropuntia species), and man-made structures such as a hammock hook under a porch. Nests are around 1.5 inches in diameter and are made with plant fibers, stems, and other small materials all held togeth-er by spider silk. Some nests are camouflaged with lichen while others are left mostly bare.

Costa's Hummingbirds breed from mid-January to May in desert habitats, but mainly from March to June else-where. After breeding, the female is the primary care-giver to two eggs, which hatch around 15 to 18 days. Young leave the nest 20 to 23 days after hatching. Only one brood (group of young) per season has been documented, but the Costa's Hummingbird is not well researched. The lifespan of this small bird is poorly understood. However, the oldest known banded bird was at least 8 years old.

Adults feed on floral nectar and small insects, and reg-ularly visit hummingbird feeders. Costa's Humming-birds have not been witnessed utilizing tree sap like many other hummingbirds do. They visit flowers of many different shapes, sizes, and colors, even many that are not usually visited by hummingbirds. Favorites include barestem larkspur (Delphinium scaposum), desert lavender (Hyptis emoryi), wooly blue-curls (Trichostema lanatum), wolfberry (Lycium species), fairy-duster (Calliandra eriophylla), ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens), chuparosa (Justicia californica), desert honeysuckle (Anisacanthus thurberi), coral-bean (Erythrina flabelliformis), bush-monkeyflower (Diplacus species), and penstemon (Penstemon species).

While fairly common in much of its range, the Costa's Hummingbird faces threats such as habitat loss and habitat degradation, climate change, and unnatural frequent fires such as those found in pastures for cat-tle. The Costa's Hummingbird has shown some adapt-ability to agricultural and urban development with the use of feeders and exotic nectar plants found in yards. However, Anna's hummingbird is also displacing Cos-ta's Hummingbird in many areas.

Featured Pollinator: Costa’s Hummingbird

Photo: Nicole Beaulac, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Photo: Alan Schmierer, CC0 1.0

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