Posted on 06/09/2014 5:05:10 AM PDT by NowApproachingMidnight
The main cause of the monarch butterfly's decline is the loss of milkweed — its food — in its U.S. breeding grounds, a new study has found. That all but confirms that the spread of genetically modified crops is indirectly killing the monarch.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbc.ca ...
“Sure it is not the massive use of pesticides,herbicides, etc by Big Agribiz?”
It’s not pesticides but widespread use of the herbicide Roundup that is involved.
Soybean and corn have been genetically modified to be immune to Roundup. This permits Roundup to be heavily sprayed on soy and corn crops without killing those plants.
A side effect has been to reduce or eliminate milkweed from the borders of the crop fields.
Before the GM-Roundup system was developed milkweed would typically grow along the edges of crop fields. Monarchs need milkweed in order to feed and reproduce.
“Whoa, why do they only herbicide practice this method for GMO crops?”
Because Roundup will kill non-GMO soy and corn.
Typical liberal BS “science.” Take any malady, take something liberals hate, then blame it for the malady. No science research or evidence required.
Farmers may rescue the Monarch:
‘Milkweed is becoming a serious crop, thanks to Win Phippen, associate professor at Western Illinois University. The ag researcher has learned how to row crop milkweed and now is working on equipment to harvest, dry and process the pods which contain white floss that currently proves to be valuable.
“Maximum field size is about five acres, and the best sites will have trees nearby,” says Phippen. “Milkweed needs bees for pollination, and if there aren’t enough bees, yield goes down.”
Unlike some alternative crops, plenty of uses for milkweed already exist. A Nebraska company, Natural Fibers Corp., has developed multiple markets for milkweed products, such as mixing floss with goose down for pillows and comforters. They even freeze-dry and grind leaves to sell to Monarch butterfly breeders. USDA researchers have found the seed meal kills nematodes and fall armyworms. The oil is rich in Vitamin E and has potential for use as a moisturizer. In addition, the floss is very absorbent.
“Milkweed floss outperforms everything at absorbing oils, and it can be used in insulation, ceiling tiles and other products,” says Phippen. “The problem is there isn’t the quantity available that large companies need.”’
- See more at: http://www.farmshow.com/view_articles.php?a_id=223#sthash.oXSS0Ds9.dpuf
I read that milkweed silk was used to stuff life jackets in the days of old.
I’m saving the silk to make a comforter or pillow. I figure, if we get another flood, I have a ready made boat.
I live miles away from farms...there are plenty of milkweed lining the roads.
farms are a man made situations. no man, no farms, less edges, less milkweed on the edges. so the worst we will have is a normal pre factory-farm amount of milkweed and monarchs....
good, good.
“I live miles away from farms...there are plenty of milkweed lining the roads.”
And that sounds like conventional farming where Roundup isn’t sprayed indiscriminately. You’d kill your own crop if you sprayed glycophosphate on it. Conventional farmers will use it carefully.
The problem only arises in huge monoculture plantings where modified seed is used and the entire area is sprayed with glycophosphate. The Monarchs better hope that some Roundup resistant milkweed shows up.
Milkweed silk is used to fill ‘allergy free’ pillows and comforters. Pricey stuff.
I have milkweed plants in my garden. Monarch caterpillars have chewed all of the leaves off of most of them but they are perennials and are already leafing out again.
Quite interesting, however, as with many articles, not all the “facts” match observations or the “facts” are not all there. The pollination of milkweed is accomplished in a complex manner by pollinia http://www.restoringthelandscape.com/2013/02/milkweed-pollination-sticky-situation.html
These are sacks of pollen which can become attached to a visiting insect’s leg. For successful pollienation, the pollinia needs to be transferred to a specific location on another flower. A honeybee is generally strong enough to yank the pollinia free, but sometimes becomes trapped and dies. The mode of attachment of the pollinia differs from the normal collection of pollen by the bees. Mostly they gather pollen particles and stuff them among the hairs on their back legs (termed pollen baskets). When they return to the hive the pollen is easily removed & stored or processed for bee larva food. Don’t know if they are able to harvest the pollinia which is attached to the bee’s foot.
I would think milkweed pollination on a scale described in this article would be associated with a high bee mortality rate.
Okay, thanks.
During WWll school children gathered bags of milkweed pods from along country roads for use in life preservers. I was too young to do that, but my older brother was involved.
The farms do not cover all the countryside. And that was my point. There will be no roundup sprayed where fields are not in existence. The monarchs will thrive there.
Now that’s what I call recycling and going green.
Today’s generation acts like they invented it.
The African hook toed Frog (being imported as pets) if I recall.
Okay, thanks for the info. Funny, I heard all about the horrors that man was supposedly doing to the environment that caused the deaths and deformities, but I don’t recall any follow-up news items or heartbreaking video clips about the real cause.
“The farms do not cover all the countryside. “
I’m sure that they don’t in New York. But that’s not exactly the grain belt where vast sections of land are dedicated to soy and corn production.
Lots of farms in ny. Flew over the Midwest a number of times and I can attest to your grain belt statement. But there still is vast tracks that are not farmed. There is still enough to keep a viable monarch population.
Where I live I would say it’s just loss of habitat for the milkweeds due to the ever increasing expansion of subdivisions and decreasing areas of vacant fields......
I suspect that is case in most areas.
I actually did that about 8 years ago. I found a field of milkweeds and a caterpiller then after it turned into the chrysalis, I gave the cage to my niece's daughter who watched it finally emerge as the butterfly.......she loved it.
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