Ice Ice Butterfly
Can you imagine spring without butterflies? More specifically, the black and orange winged monarch, the most iconic butterfly of all? Beyond the sadness of seeing this species fall into extinction, the effect on the North American ecosystem would be disastrous, causing a great reduction in floral diversity due to lack of pollination.
Researchers at ARS have devised a plan to preserve the monarch butterfly in the event of a mass extinction of the species. They devised the first known cryopreservation protocol for the long-term storage of monarch butterfly germplasm, specifically reproductive cells. Cryopreservation allows for these reproductive cells to be frozen and stored long term, preserving them for if and when monarch butterfly populations drop.
Cryopreservation presents a more permanent way of preserving insect germplasm and safeguards our vital pollinators from the threat of extinction, and by extension, the complete collapse of the North American ecosystem.