Butterfly Farms was incorporated in 2013 by Pat Flanagan and Tom Merriman because of our concern with the decline of native butterflies and other native pollinators. Butterfly Farms is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Federal Tax ID: 46-4000153 dedicated to education, conservation and research of our important pollinators. We study the host and nectar plant relationships of pollinators using th
e Monarch Butterfly as our model. Once located on 5 acres in Vista CA we have relocated to the Leichtag Commons in Encinitas, CA. In 2010 we started Luca and Micaela Nursery and started organically growing many varieties of milkweed and other butterfly host and nectar plants. Most all of our plants are grown from seed and all are pesticide free. We received USDA approval in 2013 to ship milkweed to all western United States. In 2013 we established a working relationship with the University of Kansas' Monarch Watch and now grow and ship to schools, institutions and anyone who wants to help Monarchs. Butterfly Farms has collaborative partnerships with USFWS, Resource Conservation Districts, University of Florida, UCLA, Cal Poly SLO and other higher learning institutions. We research sensitive, threatened and endangered butterfly species. We are funded through donations, grants and nursery stock sales of Luca Micaela Nursery so if you care as we do about the plight of our ecosystem please feel free to donate!
