Partnering to conserve the monarch butterfly migration

[G_j]

http://monarchjointventure.org/get-involved/create-habitat-for-monarchs/

About Us

The monarch migration is one of nature’s most spectacular events. North American monarchs travel up to an astonishing 3,000 miles in an annual migration from their summer breeding habitat to overwintering grounds.

The Monarch Joint Venture (MJV) is a partnership of federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations, and academic programs that are working together to support and coordinate efforts to protect the monarch migration across the lower 48 United States. The MJV is committed to a science-based approach to monarch conservation work, guided by the North American Monarch Conservation Plan (2008).

The monarch migration was listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as an endangered phenomenon in 1983. In 2010, the World Wildlife Fund included monarchs on its list of the “Top 10 to Watch” in 2010: species that are thought to be in need of close monitoring and protection.

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Create Habitat for Monarchs

Monarchs cannot survive without milkweed; their caterpillars only eat milkweed plants (Asclepias spp.), and monarch butterflies need milkweed to lay their eggs. With shifting land management practices, we have lost much milkweed from the landscape.

Please plant milkweed to support monarch populations, and their incredible migration! Planting milkweed is a great way to help other pollinators too, as they provide valuable nectar resources to a diverse suite of bees and butterflies. For a brief how-to flyer on planting and gardening, download MJV's Gardening for Monarchs or the Wild Ones "Wild for Monarchs" brochure.

Finding Milkweed Seeds and Plants for Purchase

The Xerces Society has launched a Milkweed Seed Finder database to make locating seeds in your state easier. Search for seeds in your state and contact the native plant nurseries that are listed to order milkweed seeds or plugs, then get planting! We recommend calling ahead to check availability of milkweed plants at the nurseries of your choice, as inventory can vary through the course of a season and from year to year.

Visit Monarch Watch’s Milkweed Market or directory of milkweed vendors to find native milkweed seeds and plants available in your region. The Milkweed Market offers flats of milkweed plugs (plants) that were grown from seeds sent to Monarch Watch by volunteers from across the country. Order plants grown from the seeds that were collected in your region, and make sure to collect and send seeds from your area to Monarch Watch next year.

Selecting Milkweed Species for Planting

•Download our milkweed information sheet for a list of milkweed species prioritized in your region that are known to be used by monarchs and easy to establish in gardens and fields.
•If you want to learn even more, visit the Biota of North America Program's Asclepias page for distribution maps for each milkweed species across the continent.
•Visit Monarch Watch's milkweed profiles page for more information on each of the recommended species.
•Especially for habitat restoration projects, we recommend using milkweed plant materials originally sourced as close to the planting location as possible. See the USFS Celebrating Wildflowers website for more information.

Types of Monarch Habitat

Habitat for monarchs can be anywhere, as long as there is milkweed growing there! Here we showcase a few typical habitat types where monarchs and/or milkweed can be found.

These include:
•Gardens
•Managed Corridors
•Agricultural Areas
•Natural and Restored Areas


...more....

[Heidi]

1. Kick!

[JCMach1]

2. Federal Government also needs to ban a whole host of insecticides

many of the same ones that are killing the bees are also taking out monarchs...

[Hun Joro]

3. Right. Who would have guessed that insecticides would kill insects?

I think of abundant life forms as a sign of a healthy environment. I remember as a kid, on summer nights the roadsides would appear to be filled with stars. I see very few fireflies any more. Part of the problem is widespread use of pesticides, but another part is the American obsession with lawns. Nature needs wild areas, even small ones we can permit to exist in our own yards.

[JCMach1]

4. I remember the year my daughter was born in Oklahoma in 1995, one Fall afternoon,

it started raining butterflies as a group (many thousands) that was migrating to Mexico roosted on the huge old tree in our front yard... It was a stunning sight I will most likely never see again...

[Hun Joro]

5. I would love to see that! So many amazing experiences our kids may never have...

[JCMach1]

6. it was unexpected and unbelievable and that they would choose my tree to spend the night...

must be something magic going on there as that tree also paid host to more fireflies than you might ever want to see...

All in the middle of Stillwater, OK