‘Where are the monarchs?’ It’s complicated

By Joy VanderLek Special to The Citizen

“Where are the monarchs?”

It’s been a hot topic of discussion for gardeners and others this summer.

Ron Gagliardi, CT Butterfly Association’s Outreach Educator, saw a monarch in West Haven on Aug. 3, but had not noticed any in Cheshire, where he lives, as of the first week in August.

“That was my first one this season, ” he said.

Monarch populations have been hard hit on both coasts. Myriad sources are responsible, including pesticide use, said Gagliardi.

Fragmentation and the re- sulting lack of host plants and nectar sites normally found in open areas and meadows are also contributing factors.

Gagliardi recalls Xerces Society’s Executive Director Scott Black’s comment on the monarch population's decline, as “death by a thousand cuts.”

“From what I’ve seen, we ’ re seeing a decline in all butterfly populations,” said Gagliardi. He also points to annual studies done by Connecticut lepidopterist Victor

Masi in his hometown of Redding. Gagliardi said there was a year when Masi did not record a single monarch.

“They’re being seen – not in big numbers, but both caterpillars and adults are being reported,” said CT Butterfly Association founder John Himmelman. That was back on July 10.

Is it possible that not seeing monarchs locally at this time is just a misperception on the part of the public?

Checking in with CT Agricul-

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