The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Monday that monarch butterflies may warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Federal wildlife officials say they have no particular plans to incorporate the butterfly on the list but that petitions from environmental groups triggered a review that could last a year. The status review will determine whether a federal listing is warranted.

Like Us on Facebook

The groups that filed the petition include the Center for Biological Diversity, the Center for Food Safety, the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and Lincoln Brower, a research biologist at Sweet Briar College in Virginia.

According to the petitioners, a subspecies of monarch (Danaus plexippus plexippus) must be protected by the Endangered Species Act. Their goal is protect the butterfly and its habitat.

Monarch butterflies reside in the United States. Some migrate enormous distances each year. Many fly more than 3,000 miles between the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

Habitat loss threatens the butterflies as does the loss of milkweed - the monarch caterpillar's sole food source.

"We are extremely pleased that the federal agency in charge of protecting our nation's wildlife has recognized the dire situation of the monarch. Protection as a threatened species will enable extensive monarch habitat recovery on both public and private lands," says Sarina Jepsen, endangered species director of the Xerces Society.

The petitioners stated there's a dramatic decline in the number of monarchs and this is being caused by the widespread planting of genetically modified corn and soybeans in the Midwest.

These crops are designed to be resistant to Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, which is a potent killer of milkweed. Monarchs also are jeopardized by heat waves, drought, other pesticides, urban sprawl and logging on their Mexican wintering grounds. Climate change is leading to more heat waves and drought.

The butterfly's population dropped from one billion butterflies in the mid-1990s to 35 million last winter, the lowest number ever recorded, according the Center for Biological Diversity.

Tagsendangered species, Monarch butterfly, animal extinction, drought, butterflies, Biology, monarchs