This post is being shared on both the Honey Bee Health Coalition and Farmers for Monarchs websites to commemorate Pollinator Week 2024 and to highlight our collective efforts towards creating thriving ecosystems, economies, and agricultural practices. As we celebrate Pollinator Week 2024, we reflect on this year’s theme, “Vision 2040: Thriving ecosystems, economies, and agriculture.” […]
Recent data from the annual survey conducted by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and its partners on the overwintering numbers of the eastern monarch butterfly population in central Mexico’s forests paint a concerning picture. The latest figures reveal a significant population decline, with only .9 hectares (equivalent to 2.2 acres) occupied during the 2023-2024 winter […]
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a membership union of government and civil society organizations headquartered in Switzerland, has amended its classification of the monarch butterfly on its “Red List” of threatened species. The organization initially categorized the monarch as “endangered” in 2022 but last month decided to downgrade its threatened […]
Where are the monarchs now? The monarchs are in the middle of their second generation and in their northern breeding area. They will be laying their eggs over the next couple weeks. Those off-spring will form the super generation that will undertake the trek to Mexico. Follow their migration at Journey North. If you as […]
Today is the first day of Pollinator Week, an annual celebration in support of pollinator health that was initiated and is managed by Pollinator Partnership. The theme of this year’s Pollinator Week is emphasizing the connections between climate and pollinators. Few individuals are as closely tied to the weather patterns as farmers. Farmers track temperature, […]
Where are the monarchs now? The monarchs are well into their northward journey and are being seen as far north as northern Nebraska, North Dakota and Minnesota. Follow their migration at Journey North. May 19 is Endangered Species Day, commemorated annually to raise awareness and promote the conservation of endangered species around the world. The […]
Where are the monarchs now? The monarchs are well into their northern migration and can be found throughout the Midwest. Monarchs have been sighted as far north as Indiana. Follow their migration at Journey North. A campaign that started in England urging landowners to avoid mowing their lawn is steadily gaining momentum in the United […]
Eastern monarch populations saw a 22 percent decrease compared to last year, according to the annual survey released this week from World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Mexico. Monarch butterflies occupied 2.21 hectares, a drop from the 2.84 hectares they occupied last year. Because it is impossible to count each butterfly, the survey measures the area of […]
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced last week that agricultural producers and private landowners can begin applying for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) General signup starting February 27 through April 7, 2023. USDA did not announce the Grassland CRP signup yet but indicated it would be open in the coming weeks. The Continuous CRP Signup remains […]
The western monarch population continued its growth in 2022, according to overwintering count totals recently released by the Xerces Society. The 2022 Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count tallied 335,479 monarchs, an increase from the remarkable rebound from the previous year, which came in at nearly 250,000. The annual Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count surveyed 272 overwintering sites. According to the Xerces […]