Monarchs Need Our Help in 2024

By Mai Mai Margules, TEAC Member

The new year arrives and with it a new urgency to help our beloved monarch butterflies. Last year was a very bad year for Eastern monarchs. Anecdotally, those of us with pollinator gardens reported seeing only a few monarchs (and other butterflies) all season whereas in past years there would be far greater numbers. What’s going on?

Every year, eastern monarch butterflies migrate almost 3000 miles from Canada and the U.S. to Mexico where they overwinter in the forests of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. In 2023 monarch presence dropped 22%, a dramatic decline that has been accelerating over the last 25 years. Pesticide and herbicide use along with rampant development of natural areas and climate change is fueling this rapid decline. Spring drought conditions in the southern US have been especially harmful. (Wildlife Management Institute)

Monarchs need late season nectar plants like goldenrod to fuel their migration south.

Monarchs need a healthy migratory path to survive, it is our responsibility to provide one for them. Over 86% of land east of the Mississippi River is privately owned. We are the stewards of our environment, how we tend our property, our own yards, will determine whether monarchs and other wildlife have a future. 

So what can we as individuals do?

1)  Plant Milkweed (host plant) and Monarch Nectar Plants:

Monarchs must have milkweed to survive, this is the only plant that monarch caterpillars can eat. Now is the time to plant milkweed seeds as they must go through a cycle of freezing and thawing to germinate, i.e. cold stratification. TEAC has lots of locally collected rose milkweed seeds, you can pick them up at the Children's Room in Warner Library along with other seeds for winter planting such as goldenrod, joe pye weed and anise hyssop which will nourish monarchs and other pollinators throughout the seasons as they prepare for their incredible migration south. Note: Milkweed seeds need light to germinate so just press firmly into the soil and water, don’t cover with soil. Here is a step by step easy planting guide. https://www.ecolandscaping.org/09/designing-ecological-landscapes/native-plants/growing-in-the-off-season-native-perennials-from-seed/