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Tuesday, Mar. 18th 2014

Save the Monarchs

monarch-butterfilesSAVE THE MONARCH MIGRATION – ONE BUTTERFLY AT A TIME – PLANT MILKWEED

Monarch butterfly numbers are at an all time low and many pollinators are declining as well. The widespread planting of herbicide tolerant corn and soybean lines, intensive farming, and the ethanol mandate have led to a rapid loss of habitats for monarchs, and many species of bees and other pollinators. This loss of habitat threatens the monarch migration and all the species dependent on the services of pollinators to provide the fruits, nuts, seeds and foliage they feed on. Monarchs and pollinators need our help. By planting milkweeds, the host plants for monarch caterpillars, and nectar plants for adult monarchs and pollinators you can help maintain the monarch migration and sustain the pollinators whose pollinating services maintain our ecosystems.

As you may know, Monarch Watch launched the “Milkweed Market” last year, commissioning the production of 25,000 plugs of some 15 species of milkweed. The mission of the Milkweed Market is milkweed restoration and to that end we only ship plants to ecological regions from which the seeds were obtained. This project has been supported by a large number of volunteers who have supplied seeds of many milkweed species from most areas of the country. If we don’t have milkweeds available for your area, please take advantage of the new vendor listing – more than 70 vendors that sell native milkweeds in various regions of the country are currently listed in a searchable/sortable format.

Go to http://monarchwatch.org and click on the “Milkweed Market” button or visit http://monarchwatch.org/milkweed/market for complete details.
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University of Missouri Extension Master Gardener Program