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

Monarchs can be an important educational tool to teach and inspire students to be more active in conservation efforts. For classroom-based activities, we recommend limiting the number of monarchs raised, capturing classroom specimens from the wild only, and reporting reared monarchs to the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project and Project Monarch Health. Learn more in our handout Rearing Monarchs For Research: A Guide for Enthusiasts.

We also recommend emphasizing the importance of habitat conservation efforts as a primary strategy for supporting pollinators at home and in their communities. If reared monarchs die, they can be disposed of naturally by returning them to the environment. Even dead monarchs are part of the natural ecosystem. All containers should be sanitized between specimens, regardless of health.