An invitation to engage in a major conservation effort
Participate in the International Monarch Monitoring Blitz and contribute to the butterfly’s preservation
July 25, 2024
Montréal Space for Life invites you to participate in the 8th edition of the International Monarch Monitoring Blitz, which runs from July 26 to August 4. It is a unique opportunity for people and organizations in Canada, the United States and Mexico to come together beyond international boundaries to protect this emblematic North American species.
For ten days, the International Monarch Monitoring Blitz invites the North American population to locate milkweed plants and look for eggs, caterpillars, chrysalises and butterflies to help estimate the size of the monarch’s summer population. To participate, you need only transmit your monarch and milkweed plant observations via the Insectarium’s Mission Monarch program or use one of the community science programs listed below.
Crucial data for monarch protection
Since monarch and milkweed populations cover much of North America, population participation is essential for deepening our knowledge of these two intimately connected species. Climate change is altering the monarch and milkweed range, therefore the importance of collecting and analyzing reliable data over the long term to get a better understanding of population and habitat trends.
For ten days, the International Monarch Monitoring Blitz invites the North American population to locate milkweed plants and look for eggs, caterpillars, chrysalises and butterflies to help estimate the size of the monarch’s summer population.
The roughly 4,000 observations reported last year helped collect invaluable data on monarch breeding all over North America. Observations from volunteers make it possible to identify priority conservation areas for the monarch and to guide conservation measures. Data collected during the Blitz are freely accessible on the Trinational Monarch Knowledge Network website, a data depository designed by experts from the Insectarium, containing observations from various sources and helping research teams carry out large-scale temporal and spatial analysis.
Image: Francine Rousseau
The Blitz is the sole coordinated initiative on a North American scale that offers an overview of the summertime range of monarch and milkweed populations. The information is critical for scientists in understanding and assessing monarch reproductive success and long-term population trends. That’s especially important now since the monarch’s eastern migratory population has reached the lowest level ever observed at the wintering sites in Mexico, over an area of 0.90 hectares, according to CONANP (Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas, Mexico). Moreover, in December 2023, Canada’s Species at Risk Act officially designated the monarch an endangered species.
‘The information is critical for scientists in understanding and assessing monarch reproductive success and long-term population trends.’
According to Maxim Larrivée, director of the Insectarium | Space for Life: “Taking part in the International Monarch Monitoring Blitz is a concrete way to contribute to the conservation of this emblematic butterfly. By joining thousands of volunteers across North America, you’ll be helping collect crucial data on monarch populations and milkweed plants. That information makes it possible to target conservation efforts where most needed. By documenting monarchs and their breeding habitats over ten days, you’re taking part in a unique and invaluable scientific initiative that no single research team could carry out and directly contributing to biodiversity protection.”
Community-science programs
IN CANADA
Mission Monarch
iNaturalist Canada
IN THE U.S.
Journey North
Monarch Larva Monitoring Project
Western Monarch Milkweed Mapper
iNaturalist
IN MEXICO
The International Monarch Monitoring Blitz is organized by the Trinational Monarch Conservation Partnership, which is the result of the collaboration of the following organizations: the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CCE), the Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas in Mexico, Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Insectarium | Space for Life, the Canadian Wildlife Federation, Journey North, the Monarch Joint Venture, Profauna A.C. in Mexico, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.
Feature image: André-Philippe Drapeau.Picard
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About Espace pour la vie
Protecting biodiversity and the environment is at the heart of the mission of Espace pour la vie, which is made up of the Biodôme, Biosphère, Insectarium, Jardin botanique and Planétarium. Together, these museums located in Montréal form Canada’s largest natural science museum complex, welcoming over 2.4 million visitors each year. In view of the challenges our planet is facing, Espace pour la vie is working to increase its impact by fostering dialogue with communities and taking actions aimed at mobilizing the public behind the socio-ecological transition.
Hello,
The Montreal Field Naturalists is a small non-profit organization focused on learning about a vast array of topics concerning our animal and plant species and the environment in general.. We offer a progam of lectures during the fall/winter season, as well as regular field outings throughout the year. The members are mostly active and engaged seniors with good general, though not necessarily scientific, knowledge.
I am interested in being put in contact with someone from Espace pour la vie who might be available to give a lecture to the club sometime in the fall or winter.
Hoping for a positive response,