Last August, residents of the Fargo-Moorhead metro area were horrified by a "monarch massacre," that made national news. Now the Fargo Forum reports in Fargo-Moorhead's 'monarch massacre' starts national dialogue that the horrifying event has "the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, American Mosquito Control Association and butterfly advocacy organizations . . . talking for the first time."
Last August, People magazine reported in Hundreds of Butterflies Killed in 'Monarch Massacre' After Mosquito Spraying in North Dakota:
A large number of butterflies have died in North Dakota this week after the area was sprayed for mosquitos.
Describing the event as a "monarch massacre," Inforum reported that on Thursday morning a number of Fargo residents woke up to find hundreds of dead butterflies around the town.
"I saw a couple of kids piling them up, probably 25 monarchs," Matt Paulson, who was out delivering packages at the time, told the outlet, adding that in just one neighborhood he "saw at least 300."
"I went for a walk throughout the neighborhood and they were all over the sidewalks and the streets," added another local resident.
In a statement, the Cass County Vector Control Department, which carried out the overnight aerial spraying, stressed that that the action was necessary due to the rising levels of mosquitos in the area.
"There are many factors that are considered before approving an aerial spray application. It was determined that the level of mosquito nuisance and the presence of mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus in surrounding communities warranted the aerial spraying application last week," Cass County Government said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. "It is very unfortunate that spraying for adult mosquitoes can result in the loss of other insects – we do not take this fact lightly."
"The timing of the monarch migration is a sporadic event that unfortunately occurred during the latest adult mosquito control application," Cass noting that they are "working with Federal and State resources to determine the cause of the loss of monarchs and if it was related to this application." . . .
By January, the Forum asked Mosquito spraying caused a 'monarch massacre.' Can a repeat be avoided?:
Lawns and streets were littered with dead and dying monarch butterflies following aerial spraying to control mosquitos late last summer — mass deaths that occurred even though investigators found the sprayer acted properly.
Inspectors for the North Dakota Department of Agriculture and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, which regulate pesticide applications, have since determined in separate investigations that the aerial sprayer hired by Cass County Vector Control committed no violations.
The dead monarchs were discovered around Fargo-Moorhead following aerial spraying for mosquitoes on the evening of Aug. 26.
One theory suggests the mass die-off occurred because spraying happened around the time the butterflies were migrating, and the insects had gathered in large numbers, making them susceptible to heavy casualties.
Fargo City Commissioner John Strand is asking city staff to come up with recommendations that can help avoid future mass deaths of butterflies — unintended casualties of more aggressive mosquito spraying to prevent the spread of West Nile Virus.
Numbers of monarch butterflies, an important pollinator species, have plunged throughout the United States in recent decades, with the eastern population down 80% by some estimates and the western population plunging by up to 99%.
“People care about butterflies and people don’t want to be a part of the decimation of a species,” Strand said. “I’m not looking to find blame. I’m not looking to point fingers.”
Strand has asked the city’s public works director to come up with recommendations, with a staff meeting scheduled for early February. Ultimately, he would like a public meeting to invite comments.
“I just don’t want to have it happen ever again,” he said, referring to the mass butterfly deaths.
Chad Peterson, chairman of the Cass County Commission, said he is open to a public discussion to explore ways of trying to prevent another mass die-off of butterflies from spraying to control mosquitoes.
“We’d welcome the conversation with the city of Fargo,” he said. “If there is still a concern to people, let’s talk.”
Last summer, wet conditions allowed mosquito populations to explode, producing record or near-record trap counts, said Ben Prather, director of Cass County Vector Control, which conducts aerial spraying to control mosquitoes over the Fargo-Moorhead metro area.
Mosquito control has become more aggressive since the arrival of West Nile Virus, which is carried by mosquitoes and can sicken or in rare cases kill susceptible people, including those who are elderly or have weak immune systems.
Also, many people don’t like to be bothered by biting mosquitoes while outdoors, especially in the evenings, when the insects are more active, Peterson said.
“Most people are far more concerned about comfort than deaths,” he said, referring to the butterfly casualties. Peterson said he gets many calls, emails and texts complaining about mosquitoes, but has not been contacted about the butterfly deaths.
“We spray every year, multiple times,” he said. “This has never happened before at this scale, to my knowledge.”
Still, Peterson said, he’s interested in trying to reduce deaths of beneficial insects from mosquito spraying, if possible.
“I think we can reach a happy balance,” he said. “No one is in this to kill insects we don’t want to kill.” . . .
In the first of two informational hearings held by the Cass County Vector Control agency at Fargo's City Hall to explain how the agency works, answers remain a bit vague. In Fargo-Moorhead's 'monarch massacre' starts national dialogue, Barry Amundson reports:
Unfortunately, in one of the only clues to why so many butterflies died, the aerial spraying Aug. 26 occurred while the monarchs were migrating.
If there's one thing that has developed in the six months since what's been called the "monarch massacre" that followed an aerial mosquito spraying in the Fargo-Moorhead metro, it's that there's a national dialogue underway.
In the first of two informational meetings at Fargo City Hall on how the agency operates, Cass County Vector Control Director Ben Prather said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, American Mosquito Control Association and butterfly advocacy organizations are talking for the first time.
Are there any definite answers on why the perhaps "freak coincidence" occurred with endangered butterflies dying in the hundreds across the metro after the aerial spraying?
Prather said "no," but in his hourlong presentation on Thursday, Feb. 18, at Fargo City Hall he wanted people to know that his agency puts a "ton of thought and diligence into spraying decisions."
He also made it clear that hundreds if not thousands of cities and districts across North America use the same insecticide — permethrin — in their spraying efforts. There's ongoing work building on decades of research regarding the safety of the chemical that's also used in crop production and household products with approval from the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration, he said.
After the meeting aerial spraying company owner Rob Aslesen, of Airborne Custom Spraying of Halstad, Minn., said he has been running his operation for decades and that the same week in late August when the monarchs died here he had sprayed 14 other cities in the region with no reports of any butterflies dying.
He also recalled hearing of only one other instance about 20 years ago where there was a report of any butterflies dying after spraying, and that was a smaller situation in southern Minnesota.
Aslesen said people "smarter" than Prather and himself on the national level are continuing to look into the issue, however.
During the meeting, there were three email questions for Prather and Fargo Public Works Director Ben Dow with one person speaking in person.
The email questions centered on the human and wildlife safety of the insecticide and why any spraying was being done, as many cities don't undertake any efforts.
Prather said for some cities it's "not a matter of need but finances," as other cities don' t have the resources to set up an operation.
He also emphasized that his agency spends 90% of its staff time and finances on controlling larvae in ditches and other standing water in a 200-square-mile metro area. Spraying, he added, doesn't make sense in the rural parts of the county with its wide open fields and sparse population.
Prather also said 60% of mosquito control products are used in controlling larvae, with 29% used in aerial spraying. Truck spraying uses 5% of the product while backpacks in more sheltered areas where his staff drives all-terrain vehicles use 3%.
He presented figures from June 15 to Sept. 15 of 2020 when there were 76 days with no applications to control the hatched adult females that bite, with 4 days of truck spraying on city streets and 3 days of aerial spraying.
During the past five years, there were 503 days with no adult mosquito spraying, 28 truck days and 21 aerial sprays.
Unfortunately, in one of the only clues to why so many butterflies died, the aerial spraying Aug. 26 occurred while the monarchs were migrating.
The season of the monarch migrations, Prather said, is anywhere from Aug. 10 to Sept. 20.
Another reason for the aerial spraying last year on that date was that numbers in traps in the metro were at historically high, if not at record levels, after the rare heavy August rain. Much of Prather's seasonal staff who are college students had already left, he said, leaving his department without enough help to do truck spraying instead.
As for the reason for doing any spraying at all, besides the nuisance factor of the pesky bugs, it's to control the sometimes deadly West Nile virus. . . .
Read the entire piece at the Forum.
Photo: Dead monarch butterflies were found across the Fargo area after aerial spraying in August 2020 to control mosquitoes. WDAY photo.
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