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As the days get longer and warmer weather comes, the endangered monarch will be making its famous migration trip, leaving the central mountains in Mexico and migrating back to Ohio and other northern states. Sadly, their return has immensely declined to the point that science soon predicts they will be extinct.  

In July 2022, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which is the leading global authority on the status of biological diversity, officially declared the monarch butterfly to be endangered. 

But I for one am not giving up and hoping you won’t either. We can all help them in some way or the other! 

Here are some small ways you can help them in this fight for non-extinction.  

• Give them food! Plant native pollinators that provide readily available nectar sources, like purple coneflower, verbena, butterflyweed, and tall coreopsis on your land. Be sure to plant milkweed along with the nectar source to complete a butterfly garden and enjoy the full lifecycle of the monarch! 

• No land? Even a potted plant would help!  

• Native pollinators are key in feeding the monarch both on their way to Mexico, on their way back, and while with us!  

• Milkweed is essential as it is the only plant that the monarch will host her egg on which then turns into a larvae/caterpillar, which consumes the milkweed, which is the only plant that the larvae will eat! 

• A note on milkweed! Only plant native milkweed, don’t plant topical milkweed. In Ohio, there are 13 species of milkweed native to Ohio that monarchs will use as host plants and there are 3 of those varieties that often come in seed packs (be patient, they take a year to fully mature from seeds): Asclepias tuberose (butterfly weed), Asclepias incarnate (swamp milkweed,) and Asclepias syriaca, (common milkweed,, the species you most often see along country roads and in our parks). And don’t use any pesticides on your milkweed! 

• Avoid the use of pesticides if possible If you need to use anything, consider using a natural or the least toxic pesticide. Remember, any use of any pesticide has effects of removing important floral resources which led to effects on the insect’s reproduction, memory and navigation issues, and death 

• Consider not spraying to prevent, such as around your house for mosquitos, as this kills other insects that are important for our ecosystem like the honeybee and spiders (yes! Spiders are good and so interesting!) 

• Limit disruptions to your land- one of the monarch’s major struggles with survival is they no longer have a place to return or no food to consume on their migratory journeys. Most monarchs will return to the site they were born to produce their first generation, but often there is no home to return to. Monarchs on their migratory journeys have limited sources of nectar to make the long trip due to habitat destruction, which has played a critical key in the loss of their survival. 

• Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle- climate change has been another major contributor that has led to the endangered monarch. By reducing, reusing, and recycling, you can play a key part to helping our planet with her own battle of climate change and saving not only the monarchs, but other species as well. 

 

I am hopeful that they return to my monarch waystation where there is protected milkweed and native pollinators. Stay tuned for updates as I will be reporting my studies of these magnificent beings! Please mark your calendar for our 4th annual Monarch Festival to learn more, have fun, and hang out with some monarchs on Saturday, September 13, 2025!