Why are Monarchs important?

The Monarch butterfly is the only known butterfly to make a two-way migration. Their habitat also allows other species to thrive and is vital to the balance of the ecosystem around it. Monarchs are also a source of food for birds and other insect-eating animals. In addition, they are pollinators and very well-known and popular ones. This means that the awareness of them and their population can cause people to take action. This in turn helps out not just monarchs, but other pollinators such as bees and moths. For example, milkweed provides sweet nectar that benefits bees.

Why is milkweed important?

Milkweed is the only place that a monarch butterfly can safely lay her eggs and is the only thing that monarch caterpillars can eat. Consuming the milkweed makes monarch caterpillars poisonous which means that their most vulnerable stages are when they are very small caterpillars and when they are chrysalises. There are two most common types of milkweed in the area: swamp milkweed and common milkweed. They are both just as excellent for monarchs and other pollinators, though common milkweed is more frequent in Medford.

How to Recognize Milkweed

COMING SOON

How to Recognize Monarchs

COMING SOON