Residents of a community in California are doing the neighborly thing by looking out for a winged neighbor.Folks who live in Hollywood Hills, California, are doing their part to help protect monarch butterflies, which are an endangered species. The insects have been laying eggs and flying around the neighborhood, which was part of the plan of the folks who live there. “They’re beautiful insects and we care about beautiful insects we don’t want them to go extinct,” Stephan Pine told KCAL/KCBS.When the Hollywood Knolls Garden Club started giving folks the heads up about the need to plant milkweed, Stephan got two plants. That ended up attracting around two dozen caterpillars. “It looked like an alien takeover at one point when you had all of them going to town on our plants. They literally chewed them to the nubs of the stalks,” Stephan said. As temperatures climbed, Stephan brought the caterpillars inside of his home. “We had so many caterpillars I had to go around the neighborhood find random milkweed plants steal leaves to keep the caterpillars fed,” Stephan said. Charles Malki, the co-chair of Hollywood Knolls Garden Club and the owner of a plant company, handed out milkweed to his neighbors. Milkweed is the only plant monarch caterpillars feed on. “It’s shocking they hit the endangered species list last year, we all need to take that additional extra step to support their population by dedicating some of our real estate to them,” Malki said.Scientists say herbicides and pesticides are contributing to the current state of the butterfly species. “It’s been really bad we probably only have 1% of the monarchs we would have seen 40 years ago,” Jeff Holmquist, an ecologist at UCLA said.The ecologist says climate change could be impacting the insects. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, most breeding adult butterflies live around 2 to 5 weeks, but overwintering adults that enter into “reporductive diapause can live 6 to 9 months.See more in the video player above
Residents of a community in California are doing the neighborly thing by looking out for a winged neighbor.
Folks who live in Hollywood Hills, California, are doing their part to help protect monarch butterflies, which are an endangered species.
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The insects have been laying eggs and flying around the neighborhood, which was part of the plan of the folks who live there.
“They’re beautiful insects and we care about beautiful insects we don’t want them to go extinct,” Stephan Pine told KCAL/KCBS.
When the Hollywood Knolls Garden Club started giving folks the heads up about the need to plant milkweed, Stephan got two plants. That ended up attracting around two dozen caterpillars.
“It looked like an alien takeover at one point when you had all of them going to town on our plants. They literally chewed them to the nubs of the stalks,” Stephan said.
As temperatures climbed, Stephan brought the caterpillars inside of his home.
“We had so many caterpillars I had to go around the neighborhood find random milkweed plants steal leaves to keep the caterpillars fed,” Stephan said.
Charles Malki, the co-chair of Hollywood Knolls Garden Club and the owner of a plant company, handed out milkweed to his neighbors.
Milkweed is the only plant monarch caterpillars feed on.
“It’s shocking they hit the endangered species list last year, we all need to take that additional extra step to support their population by dedicating some of our real estate to them,” Malki said.
Scientists say herbicides and pesticides are contributing to the current state of the butterfly species.
“It’s been really bad we probably only have 1% of the monarchs we would have seen 40 years ago,” Jeff Holmquist, an ecologist at UCLA said.
The ecologist says climate change could be impacting the insects.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, most breeding adult butterflies live around 2 to 5 weeks, but overwintering adults that enter into “reporductive diapause can live 6 to 9 months.
See more in the video player above
