Are Monarch Butterflies Really In Trouble?

“Happiness is a butterfly.”

At least that’s what some people say. If it’s true, then sadness would have to be a butterfly-less world.

Fortunately, you and I will probably never experience such a world. The planet currently hosts over 17,000 butterfly species. The United States alone has over 700 butterfly species. Most of these species are doing okay, but some are at risk of extinction. The Karner blue and San Bruno elfin, among others, are endangered in the United States.

And then there’s the monarch butterfly — an iconic species known for its epic migration. Monarch populations, according to several credible sources, are declining. To halt the decline, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has recently proposed to list the monarch as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Interestingly, this proposal is receiving criticism. Some people think that monarchs don’t need our help. Some researchers even claim there isn’t strong evidence of widespread declines.

Who are we to believe? Are monarch butterflies really in trouble? If so, why are populations declining? Is more intervention a good thing? Should we really be raising monarchs at home? And how does organized crime tie into all this?

In a brand-new video, I address these important questions. You can watch the video here.

Thanks for reading and watching!

— Adam Haritan

An Easy Way to Identify Certain trees in Winter

Want to improve your winter tree identification skills? Here’s a good tip: Look for marcescent leaves.

Marcescence describes leaves that have turned brown and are still attached to trees. These withered leaves often persist on the trees until spring.

As you might expect, marcescence isn’t a feature displayed by too many woody plants. When you see a marcescent tree or shrub, you can narrow down your ID choices to a relatively small number of species.

In the temperate woodlands of eastern North America, marcescence is often displayed by hornbeam (Carpinus), beech (Fagus), witch-hazel (Hamamelis), hophornbeam (Ostrya), and oak (Quercus).

No one is exactly sure why marcescence exists. Here are a few hypotheses:

It allows plants to photosynthesize longer into the autumn season.
It deters herbivores from browsing twigs and buds.
Marcescent trees provide shelter to animals that in turn provide nutrients to trees.
Marcescent leaves, when they finally fall off, provide pulses of nutrients to their host trees.
Marcescent leaves, when they finally fall off, smother new growth of competing woody plants in the spring.

All of these statements can be true to some degree, but it is uncertain whether any one of them is the true reason for marcescence.

Still, you and I can use marcescence to our advantage when attempting to identify woody plants. A good first step is to learn which woody plants are marcescent in our region. We can then seek out these plants, spend some time with them, and fall in love with the process.

To learn even more tips for identifying trees, consider enrolling in Trees In All Seasons. Today is the final day of the winter sale.

You can learn more and register here.

Also, if you’re interested in learning how to forage mushrooms this winter, consider enrolling in Foraging Wild Mushrooms. This 4-season online course is on sale until the end of today, December 23.

Thanks for supporting nature education!

— Adam Haritan

Brilliantly Blue: The Wonders of Butterfly Pea

Brilliantly Blue: The Wonders of Butterfly Pea

Using Elemental & Magical Frameworks for Daily Herbal Formulation – Herbalism Series

Using Elemental & Magical Frameworks for Daily Herbal Formulation – Herbalism Series

Making Mullein Torches (Hag Candles): A Magical Samhain Tradition

Making Mullein Torches (Hag Candles): A Magical Samhain Tradition

Garlic: Rooted in Folklore

Garlic: Rooted in Folklore

Harvesting Memories: Weaving Threads of Magic Between Generations

Harvesting Memories: Weaving Threads of Magic Between Generations

An Embarrassing Foraging Story

Many years ago, I became obsessed with finding wild cranberries. At the time, I had only read about wild cranberries in foraging books. I had never seen a single cranberry in the wild.

On my quest to find wild cranberries, I somehow ended up in northern Pennsylvania. A friend told me that a bog existed several miles north of I-80. “You can’t miss it,” my friend said. When I arrived at the location and stepped out of my car, all I could see was a deciduous forest.

“A bog must be in there somewhere,” I thought. Rather than consult a map, I immediately hopped on a trail leading into the woods.

A closed-canopy forest surrounded me for many miles. Large trees prevented sunlight from reaching the understory. The forest exuded dark beauty, but it lacked wild cranberries.

I continued walking deeper into the forest, constantly scanning the ground for wild cranberries. No luck.

Hours passed before a realization dawned on me. Earlier in the day, I saw an extensive opening in the forest. It was way off in the distance near the beginning of the trail. Unfamiliar with bogs, I thought the opening might’ve been a field or a meadow, so I ignored it. Several hours later, I realized my amateur mistake. Could the opening have been a bog?

With daylight fading fast, I headed back toward the opening and eventually walked into a sphagnum-rich ecosystem bursting with wild cranberries. “So this is a bog,” I thought to myself. “How could I have overlooked this?”

In hindsight, it’s easy to see how I missed the bog. I had no idea that a bog was an open habitat. I had no idea that finding a bog in a forest could be as simple as looking for light.

Today, I see things a bit differently. I certainly don’t consider myself to be an expert forager, but I understand the importance of developing ecological literacy — something that specialists often disregard.

To improve any outdoor skill — foraging, botanizing, birding, hunting — it’s essential that we learn the ecosystems in which our desired organisms live. I’m not sure why ecological thinking is undervalued today, but I decided to do something about it.

Exploring Wild Ecosystems is my newest online course designed to help you gain ecological literacy. If you want to be able to read landscapes more effectively, consider enrolling today. Enrollment is currently open until Monday, September 30.

To learn more, and to register, click here.

I hope to see you in there!

—Adam Haritan