Nebraska given grant to aid ailing monarch butterfly population

KENT SIEVERS/THE WORLD-HERALD

While Jan Keplinger planted a seven-son flower tree in her backyard to attract monarch butterflies and bees, conservation experts say milkweed is an important part of helping the struggling monarch population’s migration to Mexico.

http://www.omaha.com/news/nebraska/nebraska-given-grant-to-aid-ailing-monarch-butterfly-population/article_69dcad5e-6094-57f4-a47f-c53b9baf1e98.html


POSTED: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2015 1:00 AM
By Erika Stewart-Finkenstaedt / World-Herald staff writer

Jan Keplinger has seen a decline in the number of monarch butterflies visiting her backyard.

To attract monarchs and bees, Keplinger planted a seven-son flower tree in the 1990s. And in 2009, Keplinger recalled, “my neighbor said she sat on her deck and felt ... over 100 butterflies hit my tree.”

But the number of butterflies has declined since that peak year, Keplinger said.

Individuals, researchers and natural resource officials across the country are working to reverse a steep decline in monarch butterflies caused by the use of pesticides and habitat loss.

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