Monarch butterflies are at their lowest numbers in 20 years due to a shortage of the plant they depend on: milkweed.  But you can help this beautiful species rebound by joining a nationwide movement to save the Monarchs.  And all you have to do is plant some milkweed in your backyard.  Watch the report below to learn more about thesebutterflies in danger.

The beautiful orange and black monarch butterfly has long been one of the most well known in North America. But now these stunning beauties are at their lowest numbers in 20 years.

This is largely  because the milkweed plants that they depend on are disappearing. Monarch butterflies will only lay their eggs on milkweed leaves, and their caterpillars also only eat milkweed. So when farming and housing developments started destroying the habitat for these  plants, it proved detrimental to the butterflies.

People often just cut down milkweed in their yards or along streets, without realizing that these plants are vital to butterflies survival. Chemical agriculture and the increased amount of genetically modified corn and soybeans across the U.S. are destroying other plants, including milkweed. This winter, in Mexico, it was discovered that Monarch butterflies are greatly in danger. They are at their lowest numbers in 20 years, only occupying 7 of 12 traditional sites. Usually the  butterflies cover about 16.6 acres in western Mexico, but this year it was only 1.7 acres, a 90% decrease.