If you're new to Monarch Watch, welcome!
Founded in 1992, Monarch Watch is an education, conservation, and research program based at the University of Kansas that focuses on the monarch butterfly, its habitat, and its spectacular fall migration.
On this page, we share educational content about monarch biology and migration, photos and stories from us and other Monarch Watchers, upcoming events and news related to monarchs, and the many ways you can make a positive difference for monarchs and, in turn, many other pollinators and wildlife. We're glad you're here!
Here's some additional information about some of our programs:
🌱 We help provide educational resources and host programs about creating, conserving, and protecting monarch habitats . Our Monarch Waystation Program allows people to register a habitat that provides the resources monarchs need to support their life cycle.
🌱 Planting milkweed plants is essential to support monarchs! We host programs where people can purchase milkweed plants via our Milkweed Market Shop, and qualified applicants can apply for free milkweeds via our Free Milkweeds programs.
🌱 Our tagging program, now in its 34th year, is a large-scale community science project to help us study the monarch fall migration. Each fall, we distribute tags to volunteers who tag monarchs as they migrate through their area. Tagging has revealed new information about where the overwintering monarchs come from, the timing and pace of the migration, the impact of weather on the migration, and many other factors.
Learn more on our website, !
Calling all Monarch Waystation enthusiasts! 🌱📢
Spread the word about creating, conserving, and protecting monarch habitats with the help of our new graphics! You can use them on social media, in emails, and more to share about the positive difference Monarch Waystations can make and how others can join in on the mission.
Find the link to download these graphics via our new "Share" highlight on our profile!
🌼 Which graphic is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!
#MonarchWaystation #PollinatorPower #MonarchWatch #MonarchMigration
We're kicking off a monarch biology series, where we're sharing more about the monarch life cycle, anatomy, and other fun facts!
First up: the monarch egg.
Monarch eggs are tiny (smaller than the size of a pinhead), creamy white, and shaped like a miniature football. If you look closely, you’ll notice ridges along the egg and small structures on one end called "micropyles," which allow fertilization to occur.
Female monarchs lay their eggs on milkweed plants, and in about 3 to 5 days, a tiny caterpillar will emerge from each egg. One of the first things it does? It'll turn around and eat its own shell!
Stay tuned for the next post in our monarch biology series!
Photo credit: Rebecca Wagner
#MonarchWatch #MonarchButterfly #MonarchEducation #Milkweed #PollinatorConservation #MonarchLifeCycle
Less than 3 hours left in our special 24-hour fundraiser, and we need your help to meet our goals!
One Day One KU is ending TODAY, April 29, at 12:00p Central, and we have an opportunity to unlock valuable bonus funds. These giving challenges are based on donor numbers, not amount, which means any gift makes a huge difference!
Every donation made during One Day One KU will help provide free native milkweeds to schools, educational non-profits, and habitat-restoration projects, providing crucial habitat for monarchs for years to come.
Will you join us this morning? Find the "One Day One KU Giving Page" link to give in our bio.
We're so thankful to everyone who has given to support our programs - not just during One Day One KU but across the year - we wouldn't be Monarch Watch without you!
#MonarchWatch #OneDayOneKU #ODOKU
Today is the day! One Day One KU kicks off right now. This special 24-hour fundraiser will go from 12:00p Central today, April 28, and will end tomorrow, April 29, at 12:00p Central. Your generosity will help provide free native milkweeds to schools, educational non-profits, and habitat-restoration projects and will help support our education and research programs.
Check in with us across the day as we track our progress during One Day One KU! For those who’d like to give, find the "One Day One KU Giving Page" link in our bio.
Thank you for your support!
#MonarchWatch #OneDayOneKU #ODOKU
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).
Announcement for those local to Lawrence, Kansas: Online ordering of plants as part of our Spring Open House & Plant Fundraiser is now live! You can place your plant orders ahead of our event and schedule a pick-up time or have them delivered (local deliveries only in Lawrence). Just head to
Our Spring Open House & Plant Fundraiser is coming up soon on Saturday, May 9. Visit us that day at Monarch Watch in Lawrence, Kansas, from 8:00a to 2:00p to purchase spring plants for your garden, participate in educational activities and games, take tours of Monarch Waystation No. 1, connect with the Monarch Watch team, and see plenty of monarch caterpillars, butterflies, and other critters.
We're excited to celebrate spring with you!
Monarch tag recoveries from central Mexico are now available to view on our website!
Every year, we receive recoveries of tagged monarchs, which provide us valuable data and insight into the fall migration. Head to the link below (also in our bio) to review our 2025 tag recoveries.
For those whose tag(s) got recovered in Mexico, you'll be receiving an email in the next couple of days with a certificate that you can download and print.
Thank you to everyone for helping contribute toward this important community science program to study the fall migration!
Explore tag recoveries: /tagging/#recoveries
Happy Earth Day, and Happy 21st birthday to the Monarch Waystation Program! 🎉
The Monarch Waystation Program began on April 21st, 2005, with the registration of the first Monarch Waystation behind our building in Lawrence, Kansas. As we celebrate our amazing world this Earth Day, we're also celebrating 21 years of creating, conserving, and protecting monarch habitats.
We're taking a moment to look back on how much this program has grown, thanks to YOU! This program wouldn't have been possible without the incredible Monarch Watchers helping to support monarchs. With over 55,553 registered Monarch Waystations and counting, we know this is a result of endless teamwork and collaboration. Thank you!
Here's to another 21 years and beyond of continuing to support our planet by supporting the incredible monarchs, pollinators, and wildlife that inhabit it.
#monarchwaystation #monarchwatch
One week left before this year's One Day One KU, happening on April 28 and 29 from noon to noon!
Monarch Watch started participating in the University of Kansas' annual giving event a few years ago when we needed to find another source of support for our free milkweeds for schools and educational non-profits program. We've been so thankful to see the outpouring of support that Monarch Watchers have given from all over the world to help our education, conservation, and research programs continue for years to come.
This year, every donation made during One Day One KU will be used to provide free native milkweeds to schools, educational non-profits, and habitat-restoration projects and will help support our education and research programs.
Every gift, no matter the size, makes a difference and will allow us to do more for monarchs. Be on the lookout for more information on how you can participate in this year's One Day One KU in the coming days!
We have a special Monarch Watch community spotlight to share today in the form of paintings.
Dave Kenny, a member of the Monarch Watch community, passed away late last year, and we were honored that his wife, Meg, shared with us some of his amazing artwork, and we're excited to share his paintings.
One of Dave's paintings (first painting) was completed after visiting the monarch overwintering sites in Mexico one year. Meg also shared with us that Dave meticulously planted milkweed and kept journals of all his observations, including a painting (second painting) detailing the monarch life cycle.
We're so thankful to Dave for all the ways he supported monarchs and used his talents to share about them with others.
Milkweed zoom-in! 👀 🔍
Not all milkweed species look exactly the same, but many of them do share similar characteristics. One of the ways to identify milkweed is by flower structure.
In addition to whorls of sepals and petals, milkweed flowers also have a five-corona structure, somewhat resembling a star, made up of smaller horns each enclosed within a larger hood, collectively referred to as the "corona." Beneath the corona are relaxed petals.
Milkweed is an important plant, and not just for monarchs! Many insects rely on this species, and you can play a role in their conservation. Head to our Milkweed Market Shop (link in bio) to check out how you can purchase a milkweed plant and support pollinators across North America!
#MonarchButterfly #Milkweed #PollinatorConservation
