Monarch Madness

Inspiration

The urgent need to protect the Monarch butterfly, an iconic species facing a drastic decline. The widespread use of pesticides is destroying milkweed, the essential food source for Monarch larvae, with climate change, i.e., season creep, is disrupting their migration path. These delicate creatures play a crucial role in our ecosystem, symbolizing transformation and resilience. By exploring this rich dataset on pesticide use, we aim to uncover insights that can help preserve the Monarchs and restore balance to our natural world.

What it does

Our project seeks to understand the reasons behind changes in the monarch butterfly population along their migration routes and breeding grounds over the years. We are analyzing data on milkweed availability, sightings of monarch adults and larvae, and pesticide usage across different locations and time periods. By identifying patterns and correlations, we aim to provide insights that could guide efforts to reduce harmful pesticide use and support monarch conservation.

How we built it

For our project, we web-scraped the provided datasets using tools such as Beautiful Soup, focusing on categorizing data by state. Using Python/JSON, we created visual representations of this data, focusing on adult butterfly sightings and larvae sightings. Additionally, we pulled a dataset regarding milkweed distribution across the United States, as we found that this information gave us insight into the reproductive patterns we were interested in. We created three different gradient systems to display this data, wherein the more sightings of butterflies, milkweed plants, or larvae in a particular state, the darker the state color will be.

Challenges we ran into

The challenges we faced during our analysis included identifying which states were most impacted by pesticide use over the years and understanding why northern states experienced a decline in milkweed sightings. We also explored the reasons behind the shift in Monarch migration patterns and investigated why southern states saw a rapid increase in larvae sightings.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud to have learned how to use Plotly, Certifi, and Beautiful Soup from scratch during this event. By heavily utilizing these new tools, we developed a reproducible system for creating gradient graphs that represent data from various years, with interactive labeling for key information and data locations. Although this part of our project took time to finalize, once we built a functioning program, we could easily compare trends across different years.

What we learned

Through our analysis, we discovered that the first and second generations of Monarch butterflies lay their eggs during their migration to the northern states, producing the third generation. However, due to the high pesticide use in these regions, the population of milkweed—the vital nutrition source for Monarch larvae—has significantly declined. As a result, Monarchs are shifting their migration towards southern states instead of heading towards north, where there is less pesticide use and an ample milkweed supply. Additionally, season creep has led to an unexpected increase in butterfly populations in these southern states. This deviation in their migration path poses a risk of further population decline in the southern regions as well. We also explored various strategies to mitigate these challenges and support the Monarch population.

What's next for Monarch Madness

The next steps for protecting Monarch butterflies involve focusing on conservation efforts to restore and preserve milkweed habitats, particularly in areas affected by high pesticide use. Reducing pesticide exposure through policy changes and promoting sustainable agricultural practices are key actions that can support milkweed growth and butterfly populations. Additionally, introducing milkweed into new habitats can encourage an increase in the Monarch population, providing fresh opportunities for growth. Monitoring and adapting to climate change impacts will be crucial to ensure Monarchs can safely continue their migration paths. Collaborative efforts across states and communities to create safe havens for milkweed and Monarchs will play a vital role in securing a sustainable future for these butterflies.