Monarch butterflies

U.S. Geological Survey scientists and a graduate student at the Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at the University of Missouri partnered with the Missouri Department of Conservation to conduct a literature review of the direct effects of grassland management practices and pesticide exposure on monarchs in North America. Their findings reveal knowledge gaps in understanding direct effects of grassland management activities such as mowing, burning, grazing, and haying on monarch butterfly survival, reproduction, and development. The review also synthesized a growing body of scientific evidence indicating pesticides may be directly associated with reduction in monarch fitness and survival.