Pollinator Protection Fund

05/24/2026

Monarchs need our help to create habitat that supports them. This includes both native and non-native plantings to give a selection of nectar as monarchs are generalists when it comes to feeding. They like broad flowers that they can land upon to feed. Planting in groupings with plants that give a variety of bloom times works best. Avoiding plants treated with pesticides is important in keeping monarchs healthy.
🦋Did you know? 🦋 Monarch butterflies taste with their feet and will often return to a flower that they enjoy the taste of the nectar from. They have been studied and shown to remember their favorites!



https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1397780359059223&id=100064818157608&mibextid=wwXIfr

California agencies unveil statewide plan for western monarch conservation.

“Pollinators are essential to California grown foods like strawberries, grapes and almonds and agricultural production across the country. This report supports voluntary, science-based conservation across the landscape with a variety of partners — from national wildlife refuges and state parks to highways, farms and ranches. We are committed to working with the State of California and local communities to identify innovative opportunities that advance pollinator conservation, including for the iconic monarch butterfly." - Paul Souza, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Pacific Southwest Regional Director.

Read more about the 2026 "Conservation Priorities for Western Monarchs in California" report in our comments.

Photo by Mike Glenn/USFWS

05/12/2026

Sign up here to join this interesting talk next week!
https://secure.qgiv.com/for/monarchconservationwebinarseries/event/2mcwsc/

Our next free webinar is one week from today!

Sara Dykman is the author of "Bicycling with Butterflies," a chronicle of her 10,201-mile bike ride following the monarch migration. Her forthcoming book about frogs (her first love) is proof that following your passion is more important than being an expert at the start.

Join us at 1 p.m. on May 19 to hear Sara's story. Find the link in the comments to sign up!

05/08/2026

The 2025 Monarch Research Review is now available!

The 2025 Monarch Research Review highlights 85 studies and reports added to our collective knowledge of monarch ecology, conservation, and management. From explorations of brain neurons to international collaborations, these works demonstrate the value that the monarch butterfly provides to our understanding of the natural and societal world.

Read the review at the link in the comments.

04/29/2026

Monarchs have left their overwintering sites and have begun to repopulate their breeding range for the spring and summer months, which means we'll start to see more monarch eggs, caterpillars, pupa, and butterflies. Let's take a closer look at the pupa stage, or chrysalis stage, of a monarch's life cycle.

A monarch will spend about 10 to 14 days as a pupa (chrysalis). When a monarch first pupates, shedding its exoskeleton as the chrysalis is revealed, the pupa is very soft, but it'll end up hardening. The pupa will start out a light-green color, but as the days progress, it'll turn transparent, and you'll start to see the butterfly within, getting ready to emerge.

In the featured image, you can start to see the outline of the monarch butterfly through the pupal cuticle. We've pointed out a few areas of the monarch butterfly (abdomen, wings, thorax, head) as well as parts of the chrysalis itself (spiracles, silk pad, cremaster).

04/23/2026

This lecture from Dr. Anurag Agrawal will provide a deep and beautiful exploration into the milkweeds in the genus Asclepias, focusing on the roughly 140 American species through the lenses of ecology, evolution, botany, and entomology.

This webinar will provide an immersive journey through the natural history of milkweed, touch on key biological adaptations, showcase hotspots of milkweed diversity, and more.

The information will be presented for a general audience, making the complex science of milkweed's biology and diversification accessible to anyone interested in the subject.

The webinar is at 1 p.m. CT on April 28.
Link in comments!

Our next free webinar is one week from today!

This lecture from Dr. Anurag Agrawal will provide a deep and beautiful exploration into the milkweeds in the genus Asclepias, focusing on the roughly 140 American species through the lenses of ecology, evolution, botany, and entomology.

This webinar will provide an immersive journey through the natural history of milkweed, touch on key biological adaptations, showcase hotspots of milkweed diversity, and more.

The information will be presented for a general audience, making the complex science of milkweed's biology and diversification accessible to anyone interested in the subject.

The webinar is at 1 p.m. CT on April 28.

Sign up to join us by clicking the link in the comments.

01/30/2026

Sign up for the 2026 Monarch Conservation Webinar Series here. Hosted for Free by the Monarch Joint Venture!

Stay connected with the latest monarch conservation topics by attending our free monthly webinars. The Monarch Conservation Webinar Series is a unique opportunity to hear from experts across various interdisciplinary fields related to monarchs, other pollinators, their habitats, and the threats and....

01/29/2026

SAN FRANCISCO; January 29, 2026 – After surveys by hundreds of volunteers and partners, results from the 29th annual Western Monarch Count led by the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation reveal another historically low population. Approximately 12,260 monarchs were recorded across 249 sites during the typical peak overwintering period from late November through early December 2025, when monarchs cluster together in groves of trees along California’s coast.

This is the third-lowest tally since the count began in 1997, following low numbers last winter and a weak summer breeding season. The three lowest counts in the program’s history have all occurred in recent years: 1,901 individual monarchs in 2020, 9,119 in 2024, and 12,260 in 2025. Western monarchs numbered in the low millions regularly in the 1980s. The increasing frequency of record-low years heightens ongoing concerns about the health and stability of the western monarch migration.

“Western monarchs are in serious trouble. The migration is collapsing,” said Emma Pelton, a senior conservation biologist with the Xerces Society. “We must move quickly to safeguard existing monarch habitat and restore and better manage the landscapes monarchs depend on, or else we risk losing one of North America’s most incredible natural phenomena. Our window for action is narrowing, and our conservation efforts must accelerate.”


#2026

01/26/2026

Monarch butterflies have the ability to inspire people across North America and beyond as ambassadors for pollinator and insect conservation, and educators across North America are bringing lessons about this insect and its mighty migration to their classes.

As part of this spring's online North American Monarch Institute (NAMI), you can become part of this international group of educators and community leaders along the monarch migration flyway, whether you're at the northern reaches of the monarch's range in Canada, or at the end of the migration in Mexico or California, or anywhere in between.

The next offering of the North American Monarch Institute begins Feb. 2, running through March 27 on MJV's NECTAR Hub. This self-paced course takes place over eight weeks, with four live Q&A sessions over Zoom along the way.

Participants will receive a certificate for eight continuing education units (CEUs), as well as a digital copy of our Monarchs and More curriculum guide for the grade level of their choosing (K-2nd, 3rd-5th, or 6th-8th).

Learn more and sign up by clicking the link in the comments.

01/07/2026

Where are the bees right now? 🐝 ( Southern California – winter)

After cool, wet weather, most bees are still hibernating.

🛏️ Bees ‘sleeping’ now in SoCal:
🐝Bumblebees (Bombus spp.) – only mated queens overwinter underground; they emerge late winter–early spring
🐝Many native solitary bees (miner, leafcutter, sweat bees) – overwinter as larvae or adults in soil, stems, or leaf litter
🍯Honeybees cluster in hives and fly only on warm, dry days. Honey bees are not native to the US and were introduced around 400 years ago. Native bees are struggling and there is misinformation regarding ‘save the bees.’ Honey bees are not in peril in SoCal, native bees are.

🌧️ Rain and cold delay emergence — Feb–March is typical for bumblebee queens to come out and start foraging for food.

🌼 If you plant now there will be food later for these essential pollinators. Winter blooms become the first meals for waking queens.

🌿 Native & bee-friendly winter bloomers

Orange County:
Manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.)
Golden currant (Ribes aureum)
Seaside daisy (Erigeron glaucus)
California fuchsia (lingering blooms, sheltered sites)
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum)
Early California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) in warm spells
Ceanothus so

🪵 Winter bee help:
Leave leaves, stems, and some bare ground — bees are sleeping there right now.

Nature isn’t quiet. It’s resting and preparing! ✨

12/14/2025

Receiving updates from the City of Malibu has been a bright spot this fall. Their commitment to teamwork and community engagement is truly inspiring. The new pollinator garden tours they are leading at the monarch butterfly and pollinator garden created by our volunteers are just one example of their approach to building connections with residents and inspiring future generations to be stewards of the land.
We live in a beautiful place and creating opportunities for people to reach out, see and marvel in the small, special things all around us is a huge blessing.