BEE AND BUTTERFLY HABITAT FUND
  • PROGRAMS
    • Seed A Legacy
    • Solar Synergy
  • EDUCATION
    • IN THE NEWS
    • Free Downloads
    • Monarch's Flight
    • Honey Bees and Pollination
    • Habitat Guide
  • About
    • Annual Report
    • Our Mission
    • Our Team
  • Partner with us
  • DONATE
  • Gifts That Grow
  • Contact Us

Monarch's Flight

Picture
Picture

If We Do Nothing...

...monarch butterflies have a 60% likelihood of extinction in 20 years. Once plentiful, their vital food source and habitat, milkweed or Asclepias, is now in serious decline, putting monarchs and other pollinators at extreme risk. In fact, a recent petition proposes adding monarch butterflies to the endangered species list.
​
As far back as 1983, concern was rising for the monarch butterfly. That year the International Union for Conservation of Nature listed monarch migration as an endangered phenomenon. And in 2010, monarchs were one of the World Wildlife Fund’s Top 10 to Watch, a list that identifies species in need of close monitoring and protection. 

Monarch Butterflies
​Are in Danger

Each year, monarchs in the eastern US and Canada migrate 3,000 miles to the warmer climate of Mexico, while those in the Rocky Mountains make a shorter trip to California. It is the eastern population that is in the most serious decline. Their overwintering sites have experienced 90% decline in just two decades. Added to that, in March 2016 a freak blizzard swept through their winter haven in Mexico, killing hundreds of thousands of overwintering monarchs.
​
Estimates put the population at just 60 million today, down from 1 billion in the mid-90s. For 2015 alone, the entire eastern North American population of monarchs fit into a 2.8 acre area – that’s only 3 football fields
Picture
Picture

Monarch Habitat
is Disappearing

In just 10 years, nearly 24 million acres were converted from grassland to crop production. Some estimates say 57 million acres of the US Great Plains have been lost since 2009. That grassland was home to monarch butterflies and other pollinators. Without milkweed, the future of the monarch butterfly is bleak. During summer breeding, the monarch requires milkweed sap for nourishment, the milkweed plant to lay eggs on, and monarch caterpillars only eat milkweed leaves. They will eat many of the more than 100 milkweed species in North America on both routes of migration as well. But as more and more milkweed pastures have disappeared, the monarch population decline since 2011 has been particularly dramatic.

Other Wildlife
​is Being Impacted by Habitat Decline

Picture
Monarch butterflies aren’t the only ones affected – other wildlife including honey bees, pheasant, geese, quail, deer and more benefit from critical pollinator habitat rebuilding. 
Click Here for More Resources and Information about Monarch Butterflies
Watch to Learn More about
​Monarch Butterflies and Habitat:
Picture

Everyone Can Help

  • Donate:  Every dollar raised means more pollinator habitat created.
  • Apply for a project:  Applications are accepted year-round.  
  • Help promote our efforts: Please like and follow the BBHF on Facebook and promote our efforts to your Facebook friends.
  • Become a corporate sponsor: With proven results, our NextGen Habitat Projects are making a difference for honey bees, monarch butterflies, and other native pollinators.

About Us
   Seed A Legacy   ​
Videos   ​
Give The Gift of Habitat
Habitat Guide

Related Articles and Information about Monarch Butterflies

Looking for more information on the plight of monarch butterflies? Here are a few resources to consider. 
​
News & Media
  • Agriculture Secretary announces $3 million for a new program to improve pollinator health
  • America’s Great Plains Lost More Habitat in 2014 than the Brazilian Amazon
  • Helping the Monarch butterfly
  • Honey Bee and Monarch Butterfly Partnership Targets Upland Habitat
  • Petition to protect the Monarch Butterfly
  • Researchers worried about the fate of Monarch butterflies
  • Seeding Milkweed Can Help Patch Up Monarch Butterfly Habitat
  • UN report calls for global action to restore pollinators
  • WWF Wildlife and Climate Change Series: Monarch Butterfly 

Research & Laboratories
  • De Roode Lab at Emory University
  • Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium
  • Monarch Conservation
  • Monarch Health
  • Monarch Larva Monitoring Project
  • The Reppert Lab
  • University of Minnesota Monarch Lab
  • University of Texas at San Antonio 

Associations & Organizations
  • Association for Butterflies
  • Greater Atlanta Pollinator Partnership
  • The Lepidopterists' Society
  • Monarch Alert
  • Monarch Butterfly Conservation Fund
  • Monarch Joint Venture
  • Monarch Net
  • Monarch Watch
  • Monarch-butterfly.com
  • National Pollinator Health Strategy
  • North American Butterfly Association
  • Pollinator Stewardship Council
  • The Xerces Society 



























































































Picture

ABOUT

CAREERS

FAQS

CONTACT US


The Bee & Butterfly Habitat Fund identifies opportunities to establish critical pollinator habitat to help pollinator populations thrive. 
Picture
Picture
The Bee & Butterfly Habitat Fund is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
Picture
  • PROGRAMS
    • Seed A Legacy
    • Solar Synergy
  • EDUCATION
    • IN THE NEWS
    • Free Downloads
    • Monarch's Flight
    • Honey Bees and Pollination
    • Habitat Guide
  • About
    • Annual Report
    • Our Mission
    • Our Team
  • Partner with us
  • DONATE
  • Gifts That Grow
  • Contact Us