Monarch Joint Venture (2024)

FAQs

Are monarch butterflies endangered in 2024? ›

Conservation Status of Monarch Butterflies

In December 2020, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that listing was warranted but precluded(opens in new tab) by other listing actions on its National Priority List. The monarch is currently slated to be listed in 2024.

Mission. Our mission is to protect monarchs and their migration by collaborating with partners to deliver habitat conservation, education, and science across the monarch range.

Live Monarch states that this program is for students, educators, and those in need. They ask that if you can afford to purchase the milkweed seeds, to do so. To get free seeds, mail a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Live Monarch - 2022 Seed Campaign, Po Box 1339, Blairsville, Georgia 30514.

Monarchs and milkweed have a symbiotic relationship where the milkweed is the sole host plant and food source of Monarch caterpillars, and the adult butterflies pollinate the milkweed. Milkweed contains a chemical compound toxic to many species of birds and mammals.

Texas' 2023 ice storm and historic hot summer hit the 2024 monarch butterfly population hard. Reports from overwintering sites for the insect's eastern population in Mexico show a 59 percent decrease — the second lowest count in history. The California population dropped 30 percent.

Urban gardeners were prohibited from touching or rearing monarchs by California the Dept of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Ruling which eliminated using habitats or rearing in the house, which increased the predation of caterpillars and chrysalids.