Should I ship monarchs south (or take them with me on vacation to release) in order to help them on their migration?

We do not recommend moving monarchs (USDA permits are required to ship across state lines). There are many naturally occurring factors that lead to late-season monarchs that will not survive the winter. This is part of the natural cycle of life for thousands of organisms across earth's ecosystems. Because monarchs rely on a combination of environmental cues to sustain their migration, we discourage interference with natural conditions. Motivation is high to help protect monarchs and their migration. We support everyone's enthusiasm for helping monarchs! We highly recommend planting monarch habitat and participating in community science as two primary ways to help protect this valuable species. Please check out our educational handouts for more information on many dimensions of monarch and pollinator conservation.