KENT ISLAND, Md. | ABC7 News
Brad Bell | September 25, 2019
People in the Bayside neighborhood found the bright orange butterflies on the ground Monday morning. Several people gathered them in buckets.
A Facebook post showing an image of the monarchs has gone viral. When ABC7’s Brad Bell visited on Wednesday, he had no problem finding dozens of the butterflies still on the ground.
Residents expressed fear that recent spraying for mosquitos could be the culprit.
This afternoon, however, the Maryland Department of Agriculture, which is responsible for mosquito control, issued a statement saying the last time they sprayed was September 18th and that the chemical they use is sprayed in such small concentrations it is “not known to affect larger species like monarch butterflies.”
Nationally, the monarch butterfly population has been declining for decades because of a variety of environmental factors.