First sighting of a Monarch this Spring!

I have several plantings of Butterfly Weed (Asclepius tuberosa) for them to enjoy, but mainly to lay their eggs on. The plants are just now starting to bloom.

🦋 It is very relaxing to sit on my porch and watch butterflies. Just had plant native perennials years ago.

🦋 Related: Carrie Haubner, co‑founder of the Queen City Pollinator Project in Kentucky, tagged a Monarch with a lightweight sticker.

🦋 That Monarch was later found at a Monarch reserve in Mexico. That's a 1600-mile trek! Also feeds into useful conservation dataset.

🦋 Protecting their habitat and increasing populations of their host plant is important. Get involved if you can!

@MonarchLady

#WildflowerWednesday #ButterflyWeed
#Monarch #MonarchButterfly #HabitatGardening #Gardening #Conservation #InsectConservation

Monarch Watch (Habitat 🌄)

Monarch Watch is a volunteer-based citizen science organization that tracks the fall migration of the monarch butterfly. It is self-described as "a nonprofit education, conservation, and research program based at the University of Kansas that focuses on the monarch butterfly, its habitat, and its spectacular fall migratio...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarch_Watch

#MonarchWatch #Habitat #CitizenScience #AnimalMigration #LandscapeEcology #InsectConservation

We need to support insect diversity in urban areas, but we still know very little about the #urbanecology of most insects because we have largely focused on perceived pests and economically important species.

Our editorial for this Special Issue at #InsectConservationandDiversity uses a structured literature search to frame the SI contents and highlight research priorities #insectconservation https://resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/icad.12733