Monarch butterflies listed as endangered after 'devastating decline'

A monarch butterfly on a milkweed plant flower.
(Image credit: Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature added the migratory monarch butterfly to its endangered list on Thursday, saying that the population has dropped drastically in the last several years due to habitat loss, increased use of pesticides and herbicides, and higher temperatures.

Depending on the method of measurement, it's estimated that over the last decade, the population of monarch butterflies in North America has declined between 22 percent and 72 percent. Now that it is on the "red list" of threatened species and categorized as endangered, the monarch butterfly is two steps away from extinction.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.