The iconic orange and black monarch butterflies are a lot tougher to find in San Diego these days. Some monarchs call San Diego home for the winter, others are just passing through on their way to Canada or Mexico.
But the monarch is suffering because herbicides are wiping out the milkweed that the insects use to breed. The current situation is grim, but there is still time to protect monarchs.
"If we take care of the monarch butterfly, we're taking care of other native pollinators as well, so it's not just about the monarch butterfly," said Dan Ashe, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The monarch population in Mexico dropped from about 1 billion of the butterflies in the mid-1990s, to an estimated 30 million this year, Ashe said. One event, like a major storm or freeze, could wipe out the species.
"That's a vulnerable population," Ashe said.
Scientists are encouraging people to plant milkweed because that's where the monarch lays its eggs.
Officials from Canada, Mexico and the United States gathered in San Diego Wednesday to take stock of efforts to revive the dwindling population.
