2018 Monarch Season Results

Thanks to MEI member, J. Ross, for the photo.

2018 has been a banner year for Monarchs in Eastern Iowa! 

Our dedicated members raised and released a whopping 21,036 monarchs from eggs and caterpillars this year.  This total surpassed the past 4 years (2014-2017) cumulative total of 18,321 raised monarchs. 

In the five years of our group's existence members have raised over 39,000 monarchs. This shows OUTSTANDING dedication and effort! This year we added 300 members bringing our total membership to 1400.

OTHER 2018 TOTALS 

Each year members voluntarily fill out information they have collected. Please note that not all members kept track of their activities.

 - Number of monarch eggs, cats or butterflies adopted out to neighbors, friends, & classrooms - 1,927
 - Female monarchs released - 7,269 
 - Male monarchs released - 7,060 
 - Deceased caterpillars - 758
 - Number of monarchs tagged and released to fly to Mexico - 2,592

OTHER ACTIVITIES OF OUR MEI GROUP IN 2018

 - Meet & Greet joint meeting with the Muscatine Pollinator Project
 - Making milkweed seedballs at the EcoFest in Cedar Rapids for Milkweed Matters RAGBRAI initiative
 - Passed out info and free milkweed plants at Indian Creek Nature Center's Spring Plant Sale 
 - Helped sponsor a presentation, "The Monarchs are Coming", by Debbie Jackson, Monarch Watch Conservation Specialist, at Indian Creek Nature Center along with an information table.
 - Manned information and milkweed/pollinator plant give-away tables and volunteered at Indian Creek Nature Center's "Monarch Fest".  Harvested milkweed leaves from a local prairie and supplied caterpillars and eggs for the ICNC Monarch Festival as well as their children's programs throughout the season.
 - Information table at Fairfax, Iowa, Monarch Festival (put on by one of our members)
 - Encouraged members to register their growing area to be a Monarch Waystation (there were quite a few takers!) 
 - Many presentations, slide shows, and talks by members to groups and in classrooms.
 - Helped harvest milkweed for "Milkweeds for Monarchs", a project of Monarch Research Project
 - Held a milkweed and pollinator seed exchange in the fall in Ely, Iowa, for members and the public.
 - Facilitated several presentations about Monarchs in Mexico by Ellen Sharp, Cultural anthropologist, who lives at the entry of Cerro Pelon, a Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary in Mexico, and is co-owner of JM Butterfly B&B and director of Butterflies & Their People, A.C.

Thank you, thank you, thank you all for supporting our beautiful monarchs as we look forward to the new year!  Plan to PLANT MORE MILKWEED & PLANT MORE POLLINATOR PLANTS for 2019!