A southern monarch migration with Living Acres

#MonarchChallenge makes its way across the U.S. to speak with farmers on the importance of milkweed

With an over 2,500-mile migration, monarch butterflies are the only insects that migrate each year to a warmer climate. With the recent weather shift to cooler temperatures, monarchs have already begun their southern migration to the oyamel fir forests of Mexico and parts of Southern California, such as Pacific Grove, home of California’s eucalyptus trees.

 

There are two main reasons monarch butterflies migrate. First, they cannot withstand cold weather in the northern and central continental climates during the winter. Along with that, milkweed, the larval food plant, does not grow in the overwintering sites, so the spring generation must fly back north to places where the plants are plentiful.

 

To help the monarchs in their migration to and from the overwintering sites, the pollinator habitats need to exist along the monarch migration path. These habitats typically consist of blooming plant species for the monarch butterfly’s food source, but most importantly, they also consist of milkweed. The milkweed plant is vital to the regrowth of the monarch population, as it is the only plant monarch butterflies lay their eggs on and the only plant the caterpillars will eat.

 

To educate farm families on how they can help maintain milkweed habitat for monarch, BASF’s Living Acres crew is hitting the road to attend upcoming events along the main monarch flyway in the United States.

 

Those interested in this initiative can visit the Living Acres booth in the next few months, as the Monarch Challenge travels to the Ozark Fall Farmfest, October 5–7 in Springfield, Missouri, and the Amarillo Farm and Ranch Show, November 27–29 in Amarillo, Texas.

 

Please visit us to learn more about the Monarch Challenge and how to help the monarch population through their southern migration.

 

About BASF’s Agricultural Solutions division

 

With a rapidly growing population, the world is increasingly dependent on our ability to develop and maintain sustainable agriculture and healthy environments. Working with farmers, agricultural professionals, pest management experts and others, it is our role to help make this possible. That’s why we invest in a strong R&D pipeline and broad portfolio, including seeds and traits, chemical and biological crop protection, soil management, plant health, pest control and digital farming. With expert teams in the lab, field, office and in production, we connect innovative thinking and down-to-earth action to create real world ideas that work – for farmers, society and the planet. In 2017, our division generated sales of €5.7 billion. For more information, please visit www.agriculture.basf.com or any of our social media channels.

 

About BASF

 

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. The more than 115,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into five segments: Chemicals, Performance Products, Functional Materials & Solutions, Agricultural Solutions and Oil & Gas. BASF generated sales of €64.5 billion in 2017. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (BAS). Further information at www.basf.com.