The monarchs need our help!

And I don’t mean the Queen of England, I am talking about the monarch butterfly! Over the last 15 years there has been a significant decrease in the monarch butterfly population. These butterflies are not just pretty to look at, they play an important role as pollinators (this means they move pollen from flower to flower allowing the plants to reproduce), and they are a critical part of our ecosystem. This decline is thought to be due to pesticides and environmental changes; however, a lot is still not understood about what causes fluctuations in the population. Scientists and conservationists want to understand how the population develops during the butterfly’s breeding season, and what weather conditions affect them. That will allow them to predict population sizes in the future, and help them work to protect these beautiful butterflies.  They are asking citizen scientists like you to keep an eye out for monarchs and record their numbers, behavior, and the local weather when you see them! If you are ready to help out, visit monarchwatch.org/register to register as a participant!

If you liked the illustration for this post, you can download it as a coloring sheet by clicking the link below!
Monarch_Coloring_Sheet

Learn more and download data collection sheets at http://monarchwatch.org/blog/2017/03/31/new-monarch-watch-citizen-scientist-project/