Butterfly Emperor faces the threat from humans

For many butterflies, finding a place to stay and rest is not easy. Deforestation, drought, and global temperature changes are greatly affecting their habitats. The Emperor's Butterfly is no exception, when faced with the threat of excessive use of glyphosate by humans.

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Over the past decade, with the increasing use of this chemical, the number of Emperor butterflies has plummeted. The Natural Resources Conservation Council (NRDC) has filed a petition with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to urgently re-examine where and how glyphosate is used, as well as seeking to protect the species. Butterfly Emperor.

Glyphosate is not a selective herbicide - it is harmful to many plants. One of them is the earring, the only food source of the Emperor butterfly larvae, which is also the only species this butterfly selects to lay eggs.

Butterfly Emperor.(Photo: Livescience)

From 1999-2000, the eardrops fell by 60% in the Midwest, and the number of Emperor butterflies decreased by 80%. In the winter of 2013, researchers only counted 33.5 million Emperor butterflies in their cold weather in Mexico - a record low compared to 1 million in 1997, and down 10% from The average number in the past 15 years.

Scientists also added that the number of emigrant emperor butterflies this year is also at risk of being threatened, but the main reason is because of the herbicide Glyphosate. Although the Emperor's butterfly reproduces many times during an emigration, but if there is no earring tree to maintain life for the next generation of butterflies, the migration will fail.

The scientific bases are clear. Emperor butterflies need earring plants to survive, and glyphosate is killing their chances of survival. Limiting the use of gyphosate-containing herbicides and encouraging sustainable farming is the way to help emperors of the Emperor's butterfly become an event that every generation can witness.

Therefore, EPA is required to establish safe areas, do not use herbicides inside and outside the fields to protect the habitat of the Emperor's butterfly. It is also required to assess the amount of glyphosate in cosmetics that affects this butterfly, as well as control the toxicity of other non-glyphosate pesticides.