>> EACH >> YEAR DURING SPRING MONARCH BUTTERFLIES MIGRATE NORTH FROM MEXICO LOOKING FOR MILKWEED TO LAY THEIR EGGS.

BUT THE NUMBER OF THESE INSECTS HAVE SEEN A 60% DECLINE OVER THIS PAST YEAR, REACHING NEAR RECORD LOWS, ACCORDING TO AN ANNUAL SURVEY GROUPS CHICAGO HAVE LONG BEEN WORKING TO REBUILD OR HAVE ITS HABITAT AND RESTORE THE MONARCH POPULATION.

JOINING US NOW WITH MORE IS ASTOR HAZELL LEAVE CONSERVATION ECOLOGIST AT THE FIELD MUSEUM SCHELLER SCIENCE ACTION CENTER WILL THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

I LOVE TALKING ABOUT BUTTERFLIES, BUTTERFLIES.

I LOVE THEM.

CAN YOU EXPLAIN HOW THE MONARCH POPULATION IS SURVEYED?

YES.

SO EVERY THE MONARCHS WE SEE HERE IN LATE EARLY SEPTEMBER.

>> MIGRATE TO CENTRAL MEXICO AND THEY CONGREGATE ON THE CERTAIN STANDS OF.

PINE LOOKING TREES AND THEY'RE IN THERE THEY ACTUALLY MEASURE THE AREAS THAT THEY OCCUPIED BECAUSE IT'S EVEN THOUGH THE POPULATION'S DECLINE.

IT'S OVER 20 MILLION BUTTERFLIES.

SO WE HAVE THAT AREA.

AND THIS YEAR IT FELL BY 60%.

THAT'S A LOT TO WHAT YOU SAY WAS FOUND IN THE SURVEY.

SO THIS ABOUT 20 MILLION BUTTERFLIES IN THE 2, 2, 0.2 ACRES, WHICH IS ABOUT ONE AND A HALF FOOTBALL FIELDS OF BUTTERFLIES.

AND REASON IT'S CONCERNING IS THAT OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS WE'VE SEEN THE POPULATION DECLINE OVER 80%.

SO THIS IS STARTLING DECLINE OVER A STARTLING DECLINE.

>> AND THE CLIENTS HAPPENING IN.

BUT WE WORRY WHEN WE SEE THE STEEP DECLINES.

OVER AND OVER AGAIN, THIS IS GOING TO BE HARD TO MAINTAIN THIS REALLY IMPRESSIVE MIGRATION.

WILL SYRIA JUST SAY WHAT'S LEADING TO THIS NEAR RECORD LOW?

>> SO WELL, THE WEATHER THIS SUMMER IN CHICAGO WAS RELATIVELY MILD.

WE DIDN'T HAVE A PARTICULARLY DIFFICULT SUMMER.

WE HEARD A LOT ABOUT HOW HOT AND DRY IT WAS IN.

>> SO THE UNITED STATES AND NORTHERN MEXICO AND THOSE ARE THE CONDITIONS THAT THE MONITORS WOULD HAVE ENCOUNTERED ON THEIR MIGRATION SOUTH AND THAT HAD IMPACTED THEM.

THEY ALSO MIGRATE FROM HERE UP INTO NORTHERN CANADA AND IT WAS NOT PARTICULAR NOT NORTHERN CAN.

IT'S SOUTHERN CANADA.

IT WAS NOT PARTICULARLY GREAT CONDITIONS FOR THEM THERE.

SO OVERALL, RE SEEING THESE CONTINUED IMPACTS OF WHAT'S HAPPENING CLIMATOLOGICAL E. >> AND WHAT THINGS CAN BE DONE TO BUILD BACK THE POPULATION, WHICH IS SAY YES.

SO THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT ROLE WE SEE.

SO EVEN WITH THIS DECLINE, WE WILL MONARCH BUTTERFLIES ROUNDABOUT EARLY JUNE.

YOU MIGHT LOOK A LITTLE HARDER THAN WE HAVE IN YEARS PAST, BUT REALLY THE BREAD BASKET HERE IN THE MIDWEST, WE WANT TO BUILD THE ONES WE SEE UP AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

SO THE WORSENING, THE MOST BUTTERFLY SOUTH AS POSSIBLE AND MONARCHY, ADULTS.

THEY'RE KIND OF PICKY.

THE ONLY LAY THEIR EGGS ON MILKWEED.

AND THOSE CATERPILLARS WILL ONLY EAT LOCALLY.

SO WE NEED TO PLANT MILKWEED FOR THE BABY CATERPILLARS AND THEN WE NEED TO HAVE LOTS OF BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER FOR THE ADULTS IS AT HOW PEOPLE CAN HELP.

YEAH.

SO PLANTING LOTS OF CREED AND THEN HAVING FLOWERS THAT BLOOM THROUGHOUT THE SEASON BECAUSE WE DO WANT TO FALL BLOOMING FLOWERS TO FUEL THOSE ADULTS UP FOR THAT LONG MIGRATIONS OUT.

IS THERE CERTAIN TYPES OF FLOWERS?

I'M JUST CURIOUS TO SEE BOTH FLOWERS TO PLANT THAT WELL AND TO SEE A LITTLE PARTIAL THE ASTORS THERE'S A NICE FALL BLOOMING FLOWER ALSO GOING CAN GET A BAD RAP, BUT THERE'S LOTS TO NOT JUST THE ONE YOU SEE IN YOUR ALLEY.

THERE'S A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT GOING IN THE SPRING.

ACTUALLY HAVING DID SOMETHING FRAME FOR WHEN THEY FIRST ARRIVE.

THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.

MOOKIE TONIGHT EVEN OFTEN OPERATE WHEN THEY FIRST ARRIVE.

SO YOU'LL NEED SOME GOOD SPRING BLOOMING FLOWERS AND SOME FALL BLOOMING FLOWERS ARE GREAT.

AND THE OTHER THING IS IMPORTANT IS HAVING TO BE PESTICIDE FREE BECAUSE A LOT OF THOSE PESTICIDES THAT WILL IMPACT SOME INSECTS WILL ALSO DEFINITELY IMPACT NOMINEE.

KEEP THAT IN MIND.

HOW DOES THIS LOOK AT AN URBAN AREA LIKE CHICAGO COMPARED TO OUTSIDE CITIES?

>> YEAH, IT'S JUST CITIES ARE HUGELY IMPORTANT.

SO WE DON'T THINK LIKE, OH, WELL, WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF SPACE HERE, BUT WE STUDY THIS FOR YOUR COMMUNITY SCIENCE PROJECT.

THOSE 5, 10, 15 MILKWEED PLANTS.

YEAH.

THOSE 5, 10, 15 MILKWEED PLANTS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE IN YOUR YARD.

YOU MIGHT NOT GET YOUR FIRST YEAR.

BUT YOU MIGHT THOSE REALLY DO HAVE AN IMPACT.

SO IT MAY SEEM LIKE A SMALL AREA, BUT THAT IS HUGE.

AND YOU CAN PLANT ON YOUR BALCONY OR PATIO YOUR ROOFTOP.

YOU'RE YOU.

ARE YOU FOR YOUR BACKYARD, YOUR PLACE OF WORSHIP AT YOUR KIDS YOU KNOW, JUST ASK FIRST WHAT JUST AS FOR THAT.

THAT'S TRUE.

AS FIRST, WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT THE WORK THAT YOU YOU KNOW MY 4 YEARS.

YOU KNOW, EXPERIMENTING WITH BUTTERFLIES.

I MEAN, THAT HAS TO SEEMS KIND OF I I LOVE THAT.

I LOVE GETTING TO TALK TO PEOPLE WHO LOVE TALKING ABOUT MONARCH BUTTERFLIES.

>> ALL BUT I ALSO LOVE.

YOU KNOW, I SPENT A LOT OF MY THINKING ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE AND GLOBAL INSECT DECLINE.

BUT LIKE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE CAN DO THIS IS A MEANINGFUL IMPACT OF MILKWEED IN MY YARD AND IT FEELS GOOD WHEN I GET MONARCH I NOW HAVE TO DO THAT.

MAKE I GUESS.

I JUST CURIOUS.

WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION TO FINDING OUT ABOUT THIS DECLINE IN POPULATION?

IT'S REALLY HARD.

IT IS REALLY HARD TO MONARCHS.

A CLIENT IS HARD TO KNOW THAT MIGRATING SPECIES.

GIVE US A REALLY INDICATE GOOD INDICATION OF WHAT'S HAPPENING ACROSS LANDSCAPE.

THIS IS PROBABLY AN INDICATION THAT A LOT OF INSECTS ARE STRUGGLING AND AND THAT'S CONCERNING.

SO I TALK ABOUT WHAT WE CAN DO AND AND THAT IS IMPORTANT PLANTING LOTS OF DIFFERENT FLOWERS THAT ONLY BECAUSE THAT SUPPORTS MONARCHS, BUT BECAUSE THAT'S GOING TO PUT A LOT OF OTHER SPECIES BECAUSE IT'S AN ECOSYSTEM AND WE ARE A PART OF IT.

AND WE REALLY DO NEED TO BE SUPPORTING INSECTS.

YOU TALKED ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE WILL TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WITH ANYTHING HAPPENING WITH THE STATE OF ECOSYSTEM AS A WHOLE.

YES, SO WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF HUGE INSECT DECLINE AND, YOU KNOW, ANYBODY WHO'S MORE THAN A COUPLE OF DECADES OLD, THINK ABOUT THE FACT THAT YOU USED TO HAVE TO CLEAN YOUR WINDSHIELD ON THE ROAD.

CHIP USED TO SEE A LOT MORE INSECTS AROUND THE STREET LIGHTS AT NIGHT.

YOU DON'T SEE THAT AS MUCH YOU CAN.

YOU CAN YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE THE NUMBERS AND IT'S HARD TO HAVE THE NUMBERS FOR SPECIES LIKE MONARCHS THAT DON'T CONGREGATE IN ONE PLACE NICELY.

THANK YOU