Monarch Watch

Monarch Watch Monarch Watch is an education, conservation, and research program based at the University of Kansas
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As we celebrate the monarch's fall migration, we invite you to join us in honoring our founding director and the monarch...
08/28/2026

As we celebrate the monarch's fall migration, we invite you to join us in honoring our founding director and the monarch program he brought to life more than three decades ago. Our annual "Chip in for Monarch Watch" fundraiser is happening now!

Donations given during this campaign - any amount makes a positive difference! - will be used to further support our monarch education, conservation, and research programs, all of which exist today thanks to our founding director, Chip Taylor, and the vision he developed to help study and support monarchs.

If you'd like to give, you can find the link to our Chip in for Monarch Watch page in the comments. Thank you for your continued support of our programs!

08/27/2026

What's in a Monarch Watch Tagging Kit? We're here to share what you can expect to receive when you participate in our tagging program.

In each tagging kit, you'll receive a tagging newsletter, which shares more details about how to tag and anything new happening with the program; a fun monarch-themed bookmark; your sheet of tags that each have a unique code for each tagged monarch; and the datasheet that you'll record on for each monarch that you tag.

Stay tuned for more of our Monarch Watch Tagging Series - including an upcoming video about how to fill out that important tagging datasheet! If you'd like to participate in this year's tagging program, head to the link in our comments to learn more and order your tags.

08/25/2026

How can you tell the difference between a male and female monarch butterfly? Here are three ways to identify them as you're tagging monarchs in the field this tagging season.

Welcome to our second video in our Monarch Watch Tagging Series! As we head into the fall tagging season and monarchs start migrating south, we're here to share some info and resources for those participating in our tagging program. Stay tuned for more videos in our series!

If you want to be part of the Monarch Watch Tagging Program this fall, learn more and order your tagging kit at the link in the comments.

08/20/2026

Can you tell the difference between a monarch, viceroy, and queen butterfly? Here are some ways to tell these three species apart.

Welcome to our Monarch Watch Tagging Series, where we'll be highlighting different aspects of our tagging program and how you can participate in this community science program to help us study the monarch fall migration.

During this series, we'll be sharing topics including what's in a tagging kit, how to fill our your tagging datasheet, identifying male and female monarch butterflies, and (as shown in this video) how to tell apart butterfly species that may closely resemble monarchs as you're out tagging in the field.

We hope you enjoy this series as we follow the fall migration this season - and let us know what other tagging how-to videos you'd want to see!

When should you begin tagging monarchs?The monarch fall migration has begun, and with it, the opportunity to tag monarch...
08/18/2026

When should you begin tagging monarchs?

The monarch fall migration has begun, and with it, the opportunity to tag monarchs to study their annual spectacular migration. In southern Canada and the northern U.S., the migratory generation of the eastern population of monarchs will start heading south around early August, as environmental cues prompt them to leave in search of warmer weather. As fall progresses, the monarchs will continue moving south, eventually reaching their overwintering sites in Mexico around early November.

We've provided a table to help taggers determine when to begin tagging monarchs in their area. The estimated dates of when to begin tagging for different latitudes roughly coincide with when migratory monarchs typically start to move through a location.

As these dates approach, keep an eye out for migratory monarchs in your area! If you'd like to participate in the tagging program, order your tagging kit at the Monarch Watch Shop link below:

https://shop.monarchwatch.org/

One more month until our Fall Open House!Join us at Monarch Watch on Saturday, September 12, from 9a to 2p as we celebra...
08/14/2026

One more month until our Fall Open House!

Join us at Monarch Watch on Saturday, September 12, from 9a to 2p as we celebrate the arrival of monarchs coming from the north. This is a free, family-friendly, and mainly outdoors event, with activities for both children and adults.

Here are some of our Fall Open House highlights:

🌻 Learn about how to create Monarch Waystations (habitats that support monarchs and other pollinators)

🌻 See the magnificent butterfly and pollinator garden, a collaboration with the Douglas County Master Gardeners. (On a good day, over 20 species of butterflies visit the garden along with many other important pollinators.)

🌻 Participate in numerous educational activities and games

🌻 New this year: Check out the woody butterfly host and nectar plants (native shrubs and trees including pawpaw, buttonbush, and spicebush) available this year in limited quantities for fall planting.

Head to our event page, linked in the comments, for more information. We can't wait to see you at the Fall Open House!

Community photo spotlight! Thank you to Sonja Crosby for sharing this photo.Did you know that monarchs can see in ultrav...
08/11/2026

Community photo spotlight! Thank you to Sonja Crosby for sharing this photo.

Did you know that monarchs can see in ultraviolet (UV) light? While humans can't see UV light, monarchs and other pollinators can and use this ability for survival. For example, some flowers have evolved to display UV patterning, "advertising" their nectar so they can be pollinated. Monarchs can detect this, which helps them find sources of nectar to fuel up during the breeding and migration seasons.

We've added something new to our monarch tagging kits this year 📏Included in each tagging kit will be a ruler to measure...
08/05/2026

We've added something new to our monarch tagging kits this year 📏

Included in each tagging kit will be a ruler to measure monarch wing length in millimeters using a standard approach employed by scientists. Since wing length provides information about larval development and has been related to migratory success, the information gathered from this new, optional component of the tagging process will give us information about the condition of monarchs during the fall migration to help inform conservation efforts. We hope you'll join us in collecting this data!

You can order your monarch tagging kits for this upcoming fall season on our website (link to our shop in the comments). Thanks to many community scientists participating in the tagging program, we continue to learn more about monarchs and their spectacular migration!

Photo credit: Ann Dean Photo

Did you know that monarchs have water-resistant wings?As you can see in the photo, it's been wet and rainy here at Monar...
08/03/2026

Did you know that monarchs have water-resistant wings?

As you can see in the photo, it's been wet and rainy here at Monarch Waystation No. 1! Like many other creatures, monarchs will tend to take shelter and won't attempt to fly in the rain, finding places to stay safe under trees, shrubs, or other vegetation. However, if a monarch were to get some water on it, the droplets would roll off its wings, due to the hydrophobic (water-repellent) properties of the scales on its wings, allowing it to dry off quickly.

What's eating this milkweed? Milkweed is the host plant of the monarch, but many other insects also use milkweed as a re...
07/29/2026

What's eating this milkweed?

Milkweed is the host plant of the monarch, but many other insects also use milkweed as a resource. Milkweed leaf damage can offer clues as to which critters may be enjoying the milkweed in your yard. In the featured images, see whether you can identify the insect by the bite on the plant! Swipe to reveal each insect after viewing the milkweed leaf photo.

🌱 Early-instar monarch caterpillars tend to chew bits from the middle of leaves. (See an earlier social post of ours that details the feeding habits of all instars of the monarch caterpillar!)

🌱 Milkweed beetles tend to notch tips off of the end of leaves.

🌱 Milkweed tussock moths, which tend to be found in large numbers on the same milkweed plant, will voraciously eat an entire plant, often leaving it unrecognizable.

What other insects have you seen on your milkweed?

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2021 Constant Avenue
Lawrence, KS
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