Doubtless you were as dismayed as we were to learn a few days ago that the beautiful, magnificent, harmless monarch butterfly has joined thousands of other insect species on the endangered species list:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The monarch butterfly fluttered a step closer to extinction Thursday, as scientists put the iconic orange-and-black insect on the endangered list because of its fast dwindling numbers.
“It’s just a devastating decline,” said Stuart Pimm, an ecologist at Duke University who was not involved in the new listing. “This is one of the most recognizable butterflies in the world.”
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature added the migrating monarch butterfly for the first time to its “red list” of threatened species and categorized it as “endangered” — two steps from extinct.
The group estimates that the population of monarch butterflies in North America has declined between 22% and 72% over 10 years, depending on the measurement method.
Source: AP
Whatever the reasons, and they are, admittedly, complex, all that we can think of is what God will say to us: “Did you have to destroy my butterflies, too?”
May God have mercy.
