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Helping Monarch Butterflies
The Aquarium is approaching its ten-year anniversary in saving these butterflies and shares ideas on how you can help.
Credit: Aquarium of the Pacific
December 3, 2024
Winter is the perfect time for spotting and helping butterflies in our region. The monarch butterfly (Danaus Plexippus) spends the winter season in coastal California to survive into spring. These butterflies replenish their energy through nectar plants. This allows them to continue migrating and reproducing when spring arrives. The monarch butterfly is currently listed as threatened through the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). As the Aquarium celebrates its tenth year in saving this butterfly species, we encourage everyone to get involved from recording sightings to planting more nectar plants.
You can count the monarch butterflies you see throughout the year, which contributes to community science. Through iNaturalist, you can make a free account and upload photos of your sightings along with the location. Some key features of monarch butterflies to keep an eye out for are the dark lines on the upper sides of their wings (as pictured above). These insects can have a five-inch wingspan.
Credit: Aquarium of the Pacific
For those who garden or want to gift ideas for home gardeners, consider native nectar plants that are pesticide-free. Native plants require less water and are adapted to thrive in the local region. There are two local plants that grow well in small and large spaces: Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) and California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum). Details and lists of plants can be found through the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. This page also includes other regions across the continental United States in case your fellow gardener is out of state.
Credit: Aquarium of the Pacific
Support institutions that help monarch butterflies. The nonprofit Aquarium of the Pacific has supported monarch butterfly gardens since 2014 with the help of volunteers. In 2020 a passionate group of volunteers formed the Aquarium’s Monarch Monitoring Project to further help the butterflies and get other people enthused about this critical pollinator. The Aquarium’s Monarch Monitoring Project is part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) SAFE (Saving Animals from Extinction) North American Monarch program, which was also established in 2020. On a state level, the monarch butterfly is included in the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Terrestrial and Vernal Pool Invertebrates of Conservation Priority list. Federally, this species of butterfly is a candidate for re-evaluation of its status as of this December 2024.
Aquarium Monarch Monitoring volunteers support monarch butterfly populations in Southern California by planting and tending to pesticide-free native milkweed and pollinator gardens, both at the Aquarium and within their communities. Once established, volunteers will then monitor the milkweed plants for health, eggs, larvae, and adult butterflies. Then, during migration season, monitoring volunteers help to count the number of monarch butterflies that stop at the Aquarium and their local Southern California communities using iNaturalist.