Of monarchs and milkweeds: How one species’ pest is another’s repast

By Nathanael Johnson

The monarch butterfly is a prime example of charismatic minifauna. Charismatic megafauna — bears, sharks, wolves — evoke feelings of awe, but there’s a subtle contradiction in sheltering species that sometime eat us. With charismatic minifauna, however, that contradiction disappears. It may be harder to empathize with insects, but nurturing them comes a bit more naturally.

People like Debbie Jackson, a conservation specialist with Monarch Watch, have been nurturing the insects for decades.

“I started this as a little girl the cornfields of the Midwest, just enjoying them,” she said. “Feeding the caterpillars on milkweed and watching them grow.”

Now monarchs are in trouble — in part because there’s not much milkweed left in the cornfields of the Midwest.

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