ST. LOUIS — A proposal is underway by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list monarch butterflies under the Endangered Species Act as threatened.
Sightings of the popular insect across Missouri and the country were rare this fall as they migrated south to Mexico for the winter.
Scientists measure the population of monarchs in acres of space they take up when they land in Mexico. Last year was the second smallest number of monarchs recorded in over 30 years — a 59 percent decrease, according to the Butterfly House in Chesterfield…