Frequently Asked Questions

Community Science

If I want to raise some monarchs in my classroom as an activity for my students, what do I do if one dies?

While raising a few monarchs for educational purpose is not known to be harmful to wild populations, we discourage captive monarch rearing due to the risk of disease and reduced migration success. Instead we encourage engaging students in monarch habitat creation or restoration.

The death of monarchs and all organisms is a natural part of life and can be a great learning opportunity for students to understand all aspects of the life cycle. It can be an opportunity to learn about different threats monarchs face, like disease or parasitism. We encourage creating a schoolyard garden for butterflies or otherwise engage students in habitat creation or restoration. These are the primary conservation actions that carry the highest positive impact for monarchs. You can find more resources for educators here.

What can I do to help monarchs this summer?

Everyone can get involved in monarch conservation! You can help in a few important ways this summer.

Create Habitat: plant native milkweed and flowers for monarchs. Monarchs can only eat milkweed as caterpillars, and adult monarchs drink nectar from a variety of flowers! Visit www.plantmilkweed.org for tips and resources to create monarch habitat.
Spread the Word: we need all hands on deck to bring back the monarch population. Get creative, and spread the word in all kinds of ways! Here are some ideas; talk to your neighbors about monarchs and native habitat, put up a sign explaining your habitat, or do a presentation in your community. You can find resources to help you educate others here.
Study monarchs: You can contribute to active monarch research by participating in community science. Whether it's a one-time report, monitoring your garden every week, or going to a high-priority site to monitor habitat, you can plug in however is best for you. Find out about the many monarch community science programs here, and join us for the International Monarch Monitoring Blitz this summer July 27 - August 4!
Join Miles for Monarchs: If you're planning to get outdoors and meet some fitness goals this summer, you can help monarchs on their migration as you go. MJV and Pheasants Forever are partnering with athletes across North America to run, walk, bike, swim, or paddle the monarch migration while raising funds for monarch conservation at the same time! Learn more and sign up here!

How do they count butterflies at the overwintering sites?

In California, volunteers help to count the butterflies at each location by participating in the Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count. Groups of volunteers go out with a leader and estimate the number of monarchs in each cluster by counting individual butterflies. This is possible because there are many fewer butterflies at the California sites (as opposed to the Mexico sites). Check out this article by Candy Sarikonda on counting western monarchs for more information.

In Mexico, it would be impossible to count each and every butterfly at a particular overwintering site. Researchers actually measure the area occupied by monarchs and then using this measurement, estimate the number of individuals based on an estimate of between 10 and 50 million monarchs per hectare. Read this article by monarch experts Karen Oberhauser, Gail Morris and Lincoln Brower for more information on estimating the number of monarchs in Mexico.

Are there restrictions on handling monarchs?

It depends on the location! Look into your county and state’s wildlife handling laws and find out if insects are included. You may need to get a permit to handle monarchs. We suggest that you continue your passion for pollinator protection by focusing your energy on providing direct benefits to monarchs and pollinators through the creation of habitat and engaging your networks to do the same! The primary laws and restrictions come with touching and handling monarchs, but there is a lot that we can do to protect them without handling them. If you're interested in continuing to observe habitat and find monarch eggs/caterpillars, check out the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project and reporting your observations - see www.mlmp.org.

How can I track the monarch migration?

Since Fred Urquhart’s tagging success, researchers and community scientists have continued tracking the migration by reporting their observations of migrating monarchs and tagging.

Journey North: This simple, online reporting project engages thousands of children and adults. Volunteers report sightings during the spring and fall migrations through the project’s website. Data are aggregated and used to develop real-time maps of spring and fall migration fronts.
Monarch Watch: With over 1 million butterflies tagged and approximately 16,000 recovered tags, the Monarch Watch volunteer tagging program helps us understand the eastern monarch fall migration to Mexico. Tagging and recovery data provide information on the dynamics of the migration. Volunteers order circular, lightweight stickers that they place carefully on the wings of monarchs. A unique ID number on each tag is used to keep track of information associated with each butterfly, tagger, and recovery.

Many smaller, more localized, community science programs have been implemented throughout the country, including:

Southwest Monarch Study: Based in the desert southwest, this program provides both tagging and monitoring of monarch habitats in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, western Colorado and the California deserts. Data collected from this project help us to understand the migration, breeding, and overwintering strategies of monarchs in the southwest U.S.
Programs like the Cape May Migration Monitoring Project (New Jersey) and the Peninsula Point Migration Monitoring Project (Michigan) conduct regimented counts of all monarchs they see during a fixed period of time. These, and many other local monitoring programs, are vital sources of information about the state of the monarch migration and population in varying locations.

Learn more about tracking the monarch migration, breeding and overwintering with monarch community science here.

Does it hurt monarchs to touch their wings?

Gentle handling of monarchs to test for OE or tag, for example, is relatively harmless. Some wing scales are removed with handling, so it is important to minimize the amount you handle a butterfly to reduce the risk of damaging the wings. To hold a monarch butterfly safely, use your thumb and forefinger to firmly grasp all four of it's wings. For instructions on OE sampling, visit Project Monarch Health's website. For instructions on monarch tagging, visit Monarch Watch's website.

What is Community Science?

There is a long history of public participation in science. In fact, prior to the late 19th century, most scientific research was conducted by untrained, yet passionate, people. Today, we use the term community scientist (also known as citizen scientist) to describe volunteers who collect data for research but who are not professional scientists.

There has been public involvement in monarch community science programs since the 1950s. There are numerous community science programs that focus on different aspects of monarch biology, including migration, population dispersal, parasites, and overwintering. Find out more about them here.

How can I get involved in monarch conservation in Canada?

Creating habitat that includes native milkweeds and nectar plants is a common goal between Canada and the United States. In addition, many monarch community science programs are relevant across North America. Here is a Management Plan for Monarchs in Canada (Environment Canada).

Some organizations in Canada that have been working on monarch conservation issues in Canada include (but are not limited to):

How does monarch tagging work?

The purpose of tagging monarchs is to associate the location of original capture with the point of recovery for each butterfly. The data from these recaptures are used to determine the pathways taken by migrating monarchs, the influence of weather on the migration, the survival rate of the monarchs. Coded tags are attached to monarchs when they are captured before or during their southbound migration, and recovered when monarchs are re-sighted or found throughout the migration or overwintering season. Volunteer community scientists record the date, location, monarch gender, and unique tag number for each fall-migrating monarch that they tag and then submit these data to be used in research. The tags and tagging process do not harm the butterflies, and the data collected have the potential to answer many important questions about monarch biology and conservation. Monarch Watch, the Southwest Monarch Study, and Monarch Alert all have monarch tagging programs and are always looking for more participants; find the program that’s best for you and get involved!

What are the benefits and problems with raising and releasing monarchs?

While captive rearing has been successful in laboratory settings for other at-risk species, this approach is not yet warranted for monarchs, and recent research illustrates that informal captive rearing by individuals may pose significant risks to monarchs, including disease and lower migration success. The Monarch Joint Venture joins many other entities in emphasizing high-quality habitat creation and protection as the most important conservation strategy. We wholeheartedly encourage those interested in protecting monarchs to participate in an established monarch community science program, but we discourage the practice of informally rearing monarchs at home. Please see our handout for more on the risks associated with this practice, and a list of community science programs: Rearing Monarchs: Why or Why Not?

How do you check the butterflies for OE infection?

Sampling involves capturing or raising adult monarchs and pressing clear tape against the butterfly's abdomen to collect parasite spores. MonarchHealth is a project in which volunteers sample wild monarch butterflies to help track the spread of this protozoan parasite across North America.

How can I connect with a community science group?

Check out the summary of c ommunity science programs provided on the MJV website. Sign up or email project leaders for more information.