Form a local monarch butterfly group to share seeds, butterfly host plants, and information on protecting pollinators.
Pollinators are getting a lot of buzz lately, and “butterfly groups” are burgeoning across the U.S. These groups are formed to support monarch butterflies, bees, and other pollinators. With monarchs holding on to just a fraction of their original numbers, there’s no time to lose.
If you don’t already have a local butterfly group near you, why not form your own? You can trade seeds and plants, share information, count and track populations, and organize field trips — all while building community with your fellow pollinator enthusiasts.
Let’s look at some existing monarch butterfly groups, how they got started, and what they do to protect pollinators.
The Monarch Alliance
In 2014, Sandy Sagalkin visited the Mexican monarch reserves. After he returned home, he took a course on how to start a monarch garden, and in 2015, he formed a monarch butterfly group, The Monarch Alliance (TMA), to serve western Maryland and West Virginia.
The next year, TMA convinced Hagerstown, Maryland, to plant a monarch garden in Kiwanis Park. It also started a biannual milkweed sale in partnership with a local nursery to fund a grant program to help create butterfly gardens and monarch waystations. Vouchers awarded through the program can be used to purchase plants at the biannual sale. TMA prefers to award grants to schools, nature centers, and other applicants who plan to educate the public about monarchs or involve students in outdoor learning.
TMA members also work to educate the public on butterfly host plants and insect identification, and they’ve taught individuals, cities, schools, and businesses how to plant native gardens to help monarchs and other pollinators. TMA has partnered with local museums, Master Gardeners, and the local Parks and Recreation Department to engage a wide array of people. And some of its outreach is celebratory as well as educational: It hosts Monarch Discovery Days events in September to mark the area’s peak monarch migration.
To learn more about TMA, visit Potomac Valley Audubon Society Monarch Alliance.
The Beautiful Monarch
Holli Hearn started The Beautiful Monarch (TBM), a Facebook-based monarch butterfly group, in 2014. Holli’s mission has changed over the years; what began as a desire to share photos morphed into an aspiration to start her own group for sharing information on monarch diseases and teaching members about the monarch’s growth stages. Many new members joined and chimed in with questions about everything monarch-related.
TBM’s Facebook page has dozens of excellent photos, a discussion page, and topical sections to help members learn to care for monarchs. Having a member base of 93,000 gives this group a lot of experience and knowledge to share. Though Holli’s group was recently paused, you can still peruse the albums and files on The Beautiful Monarch Facebook page.
Donna’s Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary
Donna’s Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary began when Donna Thompson decided other groups didn’t fit her needs. She wanted a group dedicated to monarchs, with a social media platform that had strict rules — no trolls — and an open mind to allowing some non-native plants in butterfly habitats.
Donna started her Facebook group in 2021, and after just a year, it had almost 2,000 members. That year, Donna grew and distributed 1,700 free milkweed plants in Harford County, Maryland, and in 2022, she upped that number to 3,500. Donna’s mission is to share milkweed and knowledge to support monarchs, and to that end, she’s become a local expert on these butterflies and their preferred plants. While Donna began by planting nothing but native plants in her monarch habitat, she found the native milkweed soon began to spread aggressively. Now, she plants non-native tropical milkweeds, and her favorite type of milkweed is balloon plant milkweed (Gomphocarpus physocarpus), aka “hairy balls,” due to its high cardenolide content, which is important in a monarch caterpillar’s development. The butterflies that visit appear to prefer it, and most of the eggs Donna finds are on the hairy balls milkweed. Plus, Donna says these tropical milkweeds thrive through the monarchs’ peak season in August. Then, in October, she removes the plants so they won’t harbor parasite spores in winter.
As they pull into her driveway, visitors to Donna’s Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary will see two central butterfly gardens lush with butterflybush, joe pye weed, chaste tree, coneflowers, and more, with monarchs fluttering from plant to plant. Near her garage are several tables with dozens of potted tropical milkweed plants in various stages of growth. After giving a free tour, Donna sends many visitors home with a milkweed plant or two.
On her porch are large and small caterpillar tents, aka “habitats.” On my first visit, I saw more than 40 monarchs in the chrysalis stage and witnessed five eclose (emerge) in just 10 minutes. Donna releases about 800 monarchs every season; members of her group collectively released more than 6,000 monarchs in 2022.
Donna’s monarch butterfly group is adding members rapidly; Donna’s daughter, Jamie Lee, says the group gains 50 members daily. To join Donna’s group, go to Donna’s Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary on Facebook.
Baltimore County Butterfly Gardening Group
The Monarch Alliance motivated me to form my own butterfly group, the Baltimore County Butterfly Gardening Group (BCBGG). Founded on Nextdoor in April 2022, this group’s mission is to help my neighbors learn from each other and share knowledge and plants. Unlike the above groups, BCBGG will stay small and local. My group seeks to support all pollinators and nature in general. In just four months, the group has grown to a comfortable 65 members. Several of us have visited one another, shared milkweed, and swapped plants. One member gifted me gorgeous mountain mint. These connections strengthen our mission to grow butterfly host plants, increase butterfly habitat, and reduce lawns in our area.
Build Your Monarch Butterfly Group
For your group to be effective, you’ll need members. Social media is one way to attract them. The Monarch Alliance gained some members due to its partnerships. We also reached out to a local magazine, which published a story about our group; you could do the same with your local media.
The group you form can support any butterfly you want. You get to choose, and then include the host plants your chosen species needs to support its caterpillars and butterflies. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website has a native plant finder feature that can help you locate host plants for the butterflies you’re seeking to help. No matter which butterflies you seek to support, you and your group’s members will enjoy turning your own yards into enthralling pollinator plots.
Kurt Jacobson is a freelance travel, food, wine, and organic farm writer. He and his wife live in Perry Hall, Maryland, with a German Shepherd, two Maine Coons, and a lovely backyard full of native wildlife, butterflies, veggies, and flowers.
Originally published as “Organize a Local Butterfly Group” in the April/May 2023 issue of MOTHER EARTH NEWS and regularly vetted for accuracy.
