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1 Million For Monarchs

We’ve set a goal of getting 1 million supporters to come together with WWF to help us save the monarch butterfly. Will you join us?

When we think of wild animals losing their habitats, we usually think of elephants, rhinos, and tigers in faraway places. But monarch butterflies are losing their homes right here in our own backyards.

Milkweed, the only plant on which monarchs lay their eggs and the only source of food for baby caterpillars, is disappearing all across the United States due to herbicide use and land conversion. There is still some illegal logging in Mexico where monarchs spend their winters. And warmer weather is confusing butterflies, which wait for cold temperatures to begin their annual migrations. All of these threats add up to one sad fact: Monarch populations have been on the decline for decades.

These amazing creatures need your help.

It’s a big challenge, but together we can save the monarchs.

We’ve set a goal of getting 1 million supporters to come together with WWF to help us save the monarch butterfly.

By signing up for the Monarch Squad today, you’ll

  • Get the latest news and information about migrating monarchs
  • Learn how, where, and when to grow the plants that monarchs need to survive
  • Be the first line of defense and provide a voice for monarchs on important policy decisions

Want to help butterflies complete their journey from Mexico to Canada? Find out which species of milkweed to plant in your neck of the woods.

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  • Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) and purple coneflowers, Echinacea (Echinacea angustifolia), Ontario, Canada.

    Monarch butterflies embark on an ambitious migration every year. They can travel more than 2,800 miles from the US and Canada to central Mexico.

  • Monarch Butterflies in Wintering Area. Danaus plexippus. February, Highlands in Mexico (3500m).

    Millions of monarch butterflies share a single acre of forest at their hibernation site in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Mexico.

  • Caterpillar larva of monarch butterfly on Milkweed leaf, USA

    Milkweed is the only plant on which monarchs lay their eggs and it provides food for their baby caterpillars. But between 1999 and 2010, nearly 60% of milkweed in the Midwest disappeared. The scientific name for monarch butterflies is Danaus plexippus, which means sleepy transformation.

  • Cloud of monarch butterflies

    A group of monarch butterflies is called a flutter.

  • Monarch Butterfly

    The same threats that endanger monarch butterflies—including overexpansion of agriculture, illegal logging, and climate change—endanger other important wild animals across North America, from bumblebees to bison.

  • WWF staff walk through monarch overwinter forest

    Scientists track monarch butterfly populations by measuring the area of forest in which they hibernate in Mexico during the winter. This means the larger the area of forest in which we find monarchs hibernating, the larger the population of butterflies.

Latest News

Survey suggests migratory monarchs are rebounding—with a long road ahead

A new survey conducted last December indicates migratory monarch butterfly populations grew in 2015, occupying almost 10 acres of forest in their hibernation sites in Mexico. Though this shows a boost from the previous two years, the numbers are considerably low compared to 20 years ago.

Continue Reading h
monarch butterfly on flower© Phaedra Budy

Travel Giveaway to See Monarchs

WWF, together with Natural Habitat Adventures, is giving away a 6-day adventure to the Monarch Butterfly Reserve in Mexico to highlight WWF's ongoing work to save monarchs. Enter for a chance to win!

Adopt Monarch Butterflies

Make a symbolic butterly adoption to help save some of the world's most endangered animals from extinction and support WWF's conservation efforts.