When Monarch Science Fails to Take Flight 🦋🧐

53 Comments

1. Hi, I’m in Massachusetts.
   For the first time this year, the common milkweed we’ve tried to grow has taken off and we have quite a few plants popping up in the garden. The plants are tall, sturdy and look healthy BUT we have not had a single one get a flower. A few plants seem small. The very top leaves of each plant are curled inward and look stunted. I cannot find a caterpillar or other insect in the curled leaves, no webbing. Nor are the leaves discolored. Can you help figure out what has gone wrong? Milkweed in neighorhood gardens near us are all in full bloom. thanks.

   1. Hi Henrietta, I would post a photo in this facebook group:

      What’s Wrong with my Plant?

2. What about the information accumulated through the years that has led several monarch conservation organizations to state their recommendations about monarch rearing? They all seem to agree on warning against the practice of rearing large numbers of monarch butterflies and they all agree on one thing if you really want to help monarchs: HABITAT, HABITAT, HABITAT!

   Here are statements by Journey North, Monarch Joint Venture, the Monarch Lab of the University of Minnesota and the Xerces Society.

   Journey North. October 8, 2015

   “…we recommend against large-scale captive rearing of monarchs for release into the wild.” (They refer to both commercial and backyard rearing).

   Monarch Joint Venture. 2018

   “People who wish to rear monarchs are encouraged to do so in small numbers, for outreach, personal enjoyment, or citizen science. With the risks associated with large-scale rearing for release into the wild, raising large numbers of monarchs in captivity is not a recommended conservation strategy.”

   The Monarch Lab. University of Minnesota. 2018

   “Rearing monarchs can offer excellent educational opportunities and encourage connections with nature, but releasing commercially-produced or otherwise mass-reared monarchs could actually harm the already dwindling monarch population.”

   “. . . we recommend against large-scale captive rearing of monarchs for release into the wild”

   The Xerces Society. September 11th, 2018

   Keep Monarchs Wild! Why captive rearing isn’t the way to help monarchs. https://xerces.org/2018/09/11/keep-monarchs-wild/?fbclid=IwAR2M1ugPJqbfVWKlg2QW0pzf3dNfRx7mY5T-BU6SgMC2PnsQeIffb1ZEnLc

   “There are no studies or other compelling evidence that show that releasing captive reared monarchs boosts the population. And if … we are really trying to help monarchs, then we need to carefully examine the risks of captive rearing.”

   Chip Taylor, Founder and Director of Monarch Watch (2019), says “… the idea that rearing, tagging and releasing monarch will lead to a significant increase in monarch numbers is misguided.”

   1. Therein lies the reason why these scientific conclusions must always be questioned and put in the proper context. In order to make the enthusiasts look incompetent, we are accused of raising in dirty, overcrowded conditions and that we regard raising as the only answer to bringing back the population. Both assumptions are incorrect and any research that makes these assumptions is useless from the start.

      Raising is just one conservation tool that can benefit the population when practiced in moderation using processes that promote monarch health. I reject the idea that raising can’t make a positive impact on the population. Consider that less than 5% of monarchs survive outdoors, where a good raising process can boost that survival rate to over 90%! If thousands of people are doing this successfully, how can this not be considered a viable conservation tool?

      Science likes to observe, but unfortunately most scientists have little interest in improving the raising process. Thankfully, there are others in the community that ask questions and aren’t afraid to use a little common sense to address some of these potential issues…it’s not rocket science, but some groups sure make it seem like it!

3. Using these research methods is horrific. We know the frozen killed ones will never migrate and that’s not okay to have done that on purpose! Released 25 in what I consider a first wave with weather that earlier included snow, winds and too much rain. But the early ones laid eggs and I took them in and fed them milkweed and kept them clean and joyed at their pupa dance and chrysalis. I named them all and sing to them even though they are deaf. I wish them good nectar, good flight to evade predators, and a long journey to wherever they are to go. There is something not magic but real in how a Monarch makes its first flight and I don’t think anyone should interfere with that process. Once they are on their way, sometimes they are long gone. Sometimes some stay around long enough to sip nectar, mate and lay eggs on my milkweed. I consider these thank-you notes and they, like the Monarchs, please me very much. I don’t like people harming them on purpose regardless of the goal, nor of presuming that I would ever do anything to harm all the natural wonder associated with Monarchs with my intervention into their beautiful natural process. Thank you for showing us this horrible bit of “science”. I wouldn’t condone anything these people said about Monarchs, nor humans, nor any living thing!

   1. i cannot comment on the research methods of the article. i want to know why i have no monarchs flying around in my yard. no eggs either. i have seen a very few milkweed leaves with holes but haven’t seen any caterpillars. i do have aggressive robins in my yard. my milkweed is beautiful and abundant. this scarcity of monarch presence was not the case last year. i live in wadsworth, illinois between milwaukee, wisconsin and chicago, illinois. any ideas?

      1. I was thinking the exact same think as you on July 4th. No Monarchs, no eggs, no caterpillars……. until July 5th came, then we had 6 monarchs in the gardens, and have found dozens of eggs. So it seems they are just a little later than usual. I live in Trevor WI, just a few miles from you. Be patient.

   2. Even if they can’t hear your voice, they can feel it’s vibration! I pet mine and talk to them too. They know and trust me when they eclose. Every one of them willingly climbs into my hand or flies right to me. ?

4. I agree that the studies cited were very limited! I will continue to raise my “kids” in protected enclosures outdoors as well as to cultivate a nice stand of milkweed. Today in a cursory check, I found at least 15 caterpillars feasting on my small milkweed plants. I also released healthy hatchlings from our tower. Some FL monarchs just stay local so I am dedicated to continuing to give them a boost

   1. Last September, I had an experience that was disturbing, but also proved to me that monarchs raised “in captivity” still have the drive to migrate.

      Early in the month, I found a caterpillar in 1st instar. He was brought in with a large portion of the milkweed plant. He was raised with the same treatment I had successfully released 63 monarchs previously. He was my last monarch and I hesitated to take him at all, thinking it may be too late for migration.

      He eclosed in late evening, so I couldn’t release him. The following morning, he was very restless and began throwing himself around the cage, then at the netting. It was obvious he was trying to get out. Since his behavior was so uncharacteristic, I waited to release and watched him repeatedly throw himself against the netting until his wings began to break. He still didn’t stop this insanity. With broken wings, I couldn’t release him and eventually euthanized him.

      My natural instinct when confronted with this behavior was that he was crazy to migrate, and the monarch instinct to leave and migrate was STRONG. I have the video, if anyone is interested in viewing.

      So was he born insane? He was physically strong. His urge to escape was incredible. As a result of this experience, I won’t take eggs or smaller cats after August 31st. Perhaps someone has an explanation other than my own. Please let me know.

5. Thanks, Tony!

   Sometimes, flawed studies can at least be of use by pointing out studies that should be done.

   Is anybody collecting and comparing data on the percent of tagged raised butterflies vs tagged captive butterflies of the last generation, to see what percent of each make it to MX? That would help to confirm that raising caterpillars does help the population, or let us know whether for some reason it doesn’t.

   That seems to be the data that we are missing, and should possibly be collecting, to monitor our efforts. What do you think?

   1. Hi Valerie, a high % of monarchs recovered in Mexico are raised and released. I was trying to find the %…I thought Chip Taylor from Monarch Watch had recently posted this somewhere but I can’t find it. If anyone else knows this info, please feel free to reply with a link.

      1. Hi Tony,

         While this link still doesn’t give a percentage, it highlights the great need for more in depth study on migration. There are SO many areas this current research piece didn’t cover, starting with purchasing caterpillars from a breeder who’s cats hadn’t migrated in years. I was reading another article the other day about in-depth research on Monarchs at a lab in MN and there was so much more to it than this Chicago one. They were even removing/painting/blocking the butterflies’ antenna on the other article in an effort to see if it was sunlight they navigated by, then adding a magnetic field to the flight simulator, watching the butterflies head south, then reversing the field and watching them head north instead. They also give credit to citizens without calling them “hobbyists”.

6. Thanks for your educated response to these alarming articles. One cannot help but see them if you are at all involved in raising them. I too was concerned after reading these alarmist headlines.

   On a more positive note, I am pleased to announce the “birth” of a white monarch at Farmington Monarch Sanctuary. I was bowled over when I did the research about how rare this is. I feel so lucky to have this happen. This is no doubt a one-off. I did release him after a day waiting to see if I would be so luck to get a female in the batch. Of course not. LOL. He stayed resting on some milkweed and then took off, straight up and in strong flight. Bon voyage! I have a photo and video but obviously did not want to post it as this is merely a blog.

   1. Do you have a picture of it!

   2. I’d love to see a pic as well, if you have one?

7. Experiments like this also failed to take into account Monarch tracking. I’m in Southern Ontario Canada and a few years back, our tagged Monarchs showed up in Mexico. They were raised in the house! Wonder if anyone thought to look into that aspect of things.

   Hopefully this will not stop the efforts of all of us that have come together to fight for these creatures.

8. Thanks for the information. I read the article about indoor raised not migrating and was concerned. I was hoping you would post something about this, so thank you! Your information was helpful and appreciated.

9. Thank you for your thoughtful and logical response, Tony. And thank you, Rob, for providing quotations from the flawed report along with your analysis.

   I question the purpose of the experiment described in the report. If the people behind the study were interested in discovering truth, surely they would have taken a more scientific approach. This makes me doubt their aim. What were they really trying to prove?

   I hope that other scientific efforts will use solid, fact-based, open minded, questioning thinking to study the magnificent Monarch so that we can learn how to protect this species and others like it.

   This study failed to do that–intentionally or not.

10. Perhaps they should spend their time & money studying and planting plants that will benefit the monarch migraters instead of trying to replicate what nature has done & continues to do very well for millions of years! Those of is who care about nature are doing our best to undo the damage humans have done !

11. Hi Tony,

    I challenged this paper on numerous points, and posted it to the Dplex list. I had some of the biggest names in monarch conservation coming out in favor of my analysis, and some arguing against it. Everyone who wants to understand what the monarch-raising community in North America is up against ought to read the actual paper, and I see you linked to it at the beginning of your article. Here’s my analysis:

    Contemporary loss of migration: A flawed paper.

    Editorial by Rob Wood, Citizen Scientist

    Regarding the paper, “Contemporary loss of migration in monarch butterflies,” edited by Nancy A. Moran, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, and approved April 17, 2019 (received for review March 21, 2019):

    I’ve had a few days to study it, and have found what I believe to be such serious flaws in the methodology, sample sizes, logic and background information that I question the value of the conclusions reached by the authors.

    1) False/misleading statement. “Here, we show that captive breeding, both commercially and by summertime hobbyists, causes migratory behavior to be lost.” The paper may show that under some circumstances – namely, the rearing practices of one, unnamed commercial breeder – it is possible to breed out the ability of monarchs to orient south, thus impairing their ability to migrate in the fall. It never tests or shows any data regarding captive breeding by “summertime hobbyists.” In another part of the paper, it admits to using a sample size that is too small to draw statistical data from, and it also admits that “…we assessed only one commercially bred lineage, and there is evidence that other commercially bred monarchs do migrate.”

    2) Conclusion not supported by evidence. “Furthermore, rearing wild-caught monarchs in an indoor environment mimicking natural migration-inducing conditions failed to elicit southward flight orientation.” The researchers failed to accurately mimic natural, migration-inducing conditions. Not only did the artificial lighting remain on/off for a set number of hours, there is no mention of variability in intensity or angle, and no mention of the Kelvin temperature. Was it full-spectrum lighting? Daylight color temperature at noon is 5600K, but sunlight color temperature can vary widely based on time of day and weather conditions. Since the researchers neglected to vary the intensity and color temperature of the lighting, the test results are inconclusive (to put it kindly). In addition, the ambient temperature in the chamber was constant (18 °C with a 14-h day) and (25 °C with a 16-h day). How could “summertime hobbyists” so rigidly maintain breeding conditions of that consistency, and even more importantly, why would they even try?

    3) False/misleading/sweeping generalization. “In fact, merely eclosing indoors after an otherwise complete lifecycle outdoors was enough to disrupt southern orientation.” This statement equates the conditions in a rigidly controlled “environmental chamber” with “indoors.” Since “indoors” is also coupled by the authors with “summertime hobbyists,” in order for this statement to be true, all “summertime hobbyists” must therefore breed monarch butterflies in “environmental chambers” with rigidly controlled lighting and ambient temperatures. The authors did not claim to have identified even one “summertime hobbyist” who breeds monarchs in this fashion.

    4) Background statement contrary to scientific evidence. “Over the past hundreds or thousands of years, NA monarchs dispersed out of North America at least three times, once south into Central and South America and the Caribbean, once west across the Pacific Islands and into Australia, and once east into southern Europe and North Africa. Each of these dispersal events produced populations that reproduce year-round and do not migrate.” As has been pointed out by Dr. David G. James, Associate Professor of Entomology and Director of WSU Monarch-tagging program, Department of Entomology, Washington State University who researched this subject extensively in the 1980s, Southern Australia and New Zealand populations migrate in the fall, and overwinter “exactly in the manner of Western USA populations.”

    5) Contradictory statement. “Recently, 720 monarchs that were raised by a different commercial breeder were tagged and released in San Antonio, TX, of which five were recovered at overwintering sites in Mexico. We do not know if different husbandry practices affect whether a captive population is likely to lose migration behavior or if some proportion of all commercial monarchs have the potential to orient and migrate successfully.” If this statement is true, then this statement, if it’s referring to all commercial breeders, is false: “…however, as a group, these commercial monarchs are not directional.”

    6) Conclusion not supported by evidence. “Commercial-lineage monarchs do not orient south but enter reproductive arrest.” The tests upon which the study depended only showed that some monarch butterflies did not orient south while attached to a flight simulator. Since the test subjects were euthanized after the experiments, there is no way to reliably discount the possibility that the monarchs, had they been released into a natural environment, might have ultimately oriented south.

    7) Undefined terms used to support conclusions. What is a “summertime hobbyist?” The paper seems to use this term interchangeably when referring both to (presumably) amateur captive breeders (“…captive breeding, both commercially and by summertime hobbyists”), and when referring to people who capture and raise monarchs in their homes (“Summertime hobbyists raise monarchs in their homes throughout the summer and autumn and then release them…”) I suggest that “summertime hobbyist” is actually a pejorative term used by the authors to denigrate the very large (and growing) international community of citizen scientists who approach the business of captive raising/rearing (not breeding) very seriously. Amateur captive raisers (as opposed to professional breeders) have contributed, and continue to contribute, important data to the scientific monarch community. A fantastic example is the 17-year joint University of Minnesota/MLMP tachinid study, published in July of 2017, that relied entirely on citizen scientists to collect tachinid larvae from their own parasitized caterpillars, properly label them, allow the maggots to pupate and eclose, freeze the samples, and send them to the university’s lab for identification.

    Rob Wood, San Marcos, California

12. Aren’t the migrating monarchs a sub-species?

    Aren’t there monarchs that do not migrate?

    Here in No East FL we have them in March/April & I’m pretty sure they’ve wintered here.

    1. hi Bill, there are non-migratory monarchs that reside year round in central and south Florida.

13. Hi, thanks for this discussion about what was in the news media, well done like a good analyst, journalist and w/ a scientific mind!
    You and Rich Lund are of very-like minds. You could really benefit from listening to/watching his new video that I caught and sent the link to here, that clearly defines the present situation about the Monarchs and especially considering why everything is being discussed these days: the ruling that could come down stating the Monarch species will be added to the Endangered Species Lis, Dec., 2020. It helped me understand what’s happening through his descriptions clearly defining and based on historical facts, legalities and otherwise, ramifications in the points to consider in reaction to the news regarding what may or may not happen. It also interestingly, before those news articles even came out this past week, speaks to the news pieces on the Monarchs as well as discussing the points and differences/similarities represented by the public statements regarding the two major Monarch Butterfly voices, “Journey North” and “The Xerxes Society”.
    I benefited a lot by following this! Hope you do, as well.
    Take care, and much gratitude always for your solid and true directions about raising and helping the Monarchs! https://youtu.be/xFWF3OQnBBU

14. It’s a shame that precious research money is used in such a bogus way.

15. I read an article that was recommending not raising a lot of monarchs in captivity.
    Mainly they were developing fungal and bacteria infections then when released they infect the wild population.. Also they do not seem to be as strong as the monarchs raised in the wild thus introducing weaker
    Breeding stock into the wild.
    Do you feel there is any merit in these ideas?

    1. Hi Marie, monarchs typically die from bacterial and viral infections, and I’m sure what you mean by fungal? Once again, how healthy/strong monarchs will be raised in captivity will depend on your raising methods. I’m not aware of any scientific studies that compares raising processes. They’re assuming everyone raises the exact same way without even elaborating on what that process is.

16. Good points!

17. Since only the LAST generation of the season migrates south, the research even if not flawed, is irrelevant to home-raised spring and summer hatching eggs.. Thanks for your excellent response on this issue.

18. Thank you, Tony, for this. It’s good that people are encouraged to expose the monarchs to natural conditions. People can now calm down! Again, thank you for this.

19. This article is what I consider fake news! This author wants fame. How can any true scientist with a conscience put out an article based on obvious assumptions and methods that are faulty at best. There is no possible way for her to know they don’t migrate without putting homing devices on the butterflies and actually releasing them into the wild, or at least tagging and releasing butterflies raised commercially and also in a real home (with access to natural light and temps), and doing it over several years.
    Also, no RESPONSIBLE researcher would claim their results are conclusive in general, without evidence that similar results could be obtained by others! Spread the word folks, so former and potential monarch raisers aren’t scarred for life!

20. Hey, Tony–I recently read an article in The Atlantic, by Ed Yong published on June 24th of this year. My takeaway on that article, too, was that their testing methodology was seriously flawed. Thanks for the heads-up on additional information.

    One thing that really stood out, to me, was the quote below by a gal at the University of Chicago, that apparently was deeply involved in whatever testing they did there:

    (Tenger-Trolander, Univ. of Chicago)
    For example, she and her colleagues also collected wild-monarch eggs and raised them indoors, under autumnlike temperatures and lighting schedules, much as legions of hobbyist breeders do. These insects didn’t orient south either.

    Orient South? I live in Central Missouri, and have been rearing Monarchs and watching the migration for years, now. There aren’t enough of the North-bound fliers in the Spring to get a good read on, but very few of them are oriented in a true “northerly” heading. They seem to be more interested in nectar sources and looking for a place to lay eggs.

    In the Fall, on the South-bound leg of their journey, the overwhelming majority of them are flying due West when they pass over this location. I’d say at least 60%+ are oriented due West, with the rest oriented in a slight South-westerly direction, but only a very, very, few are oriented due South.

    I have observed this same exact behavor in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, which is about 200 miles South of here. I always figured that they were heading into Kansas and Oklahoma where they’d find the main “funnel” that would take them into Texas. Since I’m not a trained scientist, I have no idea if this observation is correct, but what I do know is that when the main migration passes over me, most of those babies are flying due West.

    I rear Monarchs in both the Spring and Fall, but I can’t really say how my hand-reared babies “orient” when we release them. Mostly, they chill out on nectar sources in my gardens, or flitter up to the nearby trees. I have yet to see a hand-reared Monarch orient either due South, or due North, and if anyone expects a freshly released Monarch to do so needs to jerk their head out of their southern exposure. And, quit drinking the kool-aid that the scientific community is churning out. Those kids need to look out their windows and get a better grip on what’s going on in the real world. /End rant……Best…..Mitch

    1. Interesting observations! I highly suspect the go in the direction of scent with the instinct to fuel up. Also, has anyone recorded the direction and speed of wind when they make their observations? If they are seeking to glide, it probably affects the direction they start out with.

    2. Amen!!! They gave them 10 minutes to orient themselves? Hey, they just went from a caterpillar to a butterfly! If I fell asleep and awoke as another animal, I might take longer than a mere 10 minutes to get oriented!!! And I’d be hungry to boot probably! Where did they get 10 minutes deadline??!!

       And all of the monarchs I have observed flying “free” outdoors, go in a huge circular pattern!! They taste my flowers, fly across the road to an old barn/pasture, back around to the south of me across a large field and then back to my flowers. Am I concerned? Nah, I figure they just want to check everything out!

21. While reading that none-sense, I KNEW it was incorrect. Simply because every year I release late Monarchs they ALWAYS immediately fly south west. My wife and I are astounded by this!
    Regardless, even if this flawed report was ENTIRELY true- the awareness of the species and propagation of milkweed alone is worth the effort. In just the few short years we’ve been doing this we have educated soo many people about it. And many have started to get involved and make behavioral changes in milkweed propagation and reduced pesticide & herbicide use. And THIS is how change happens.
    I smile when upon entering or leaving any business where the milkweed is allowed yo grow in the otherwise manicured flower beds!! We ARE INDEED making a difference! And you Tony are leafing the way!?

22. Thank you for your response to that article. I was feeling pretty disheartened too. I bring eggs inside and raise them on a table near our patio doors. Lots of natural light but not much temp fluctuation. I’ve had great luck with them over the years. (No disease). ?? Just released my first batch of the season yesterday! Thanks again from NE Iowa.

23. Can you please tell me the best plants to plant next to milkweed? Trying to llant milkweed but also want plants to compliment and possibly bring more butterflies and hummingbirds. Thank you

    1. Hi Tawna, check out this post on:

       Milkweed Companion Plants

       and more ideas to consider here:

       Butterfly Plants List

24. This article makes me feel so much better about raising and releasing Monarchs! If all goes well, in about 2 1/2 weeks I will have released 53 Monarchs! To date only six so far but my outdoor habitat is loaded with Chrysalis!

25. As always Tony, you present useful information to us. Media is always about headlines weather true or not. As for research, many flawed studies make it to mainstream without enough evidence to support the conclusions. I’ll continue raising as many cats to adulthood as my MW supply allows keeping them safe from predators and in natural surroundings.

26. Aren’t there any tagged adults anywhere in this study. I understand, out of the millions of butterflies, the chance of coming across a tag is miniscule, but at least they could have tried. Or maybe they need very tiny radio transmitters :>) .

    1. They did not release the monarchs after the experiment. They euthanized and did necropsies on them.

27. Fake news.

28. I, too, was dismayed at first after I read that article earlier in the week. But then felt that the backyard effort is NOT INBREEDING as these large suppliers are. These are naturally fertilized eggs that we collect and keep safe from predators till first flight. I don’t see how they can remotely compare the methods used. I feel confident in our efforts! If nothing else, providing a milkweed source alone is an integral part of this astonishing process.

29. Thank you, Tony! I agree, the more “natural” setting the butterflies are being raised in, the better. I’ve been raising mine on the enclosed side porch. It has 5 windows and two storm doors which all open up to screens to regulate light and temperature. Since it was recently remodeled, it’s about 99% sealed so I don’t mess with the mesh cages. I do use the floral tubes and holders with milkweed cuttings and am having great success with them. So far, we’ve brought in 34 cats, lost 13 of them, but have successfully raised 21 of them, releasing 8 so far. We have 9 more perfect chrysalis and 4 straggler baby cats to complete this generation. The losses were early on when I didn’t really know what I was doing! In the first couple of days, I lost 8 to milkweed poisoning and 2 to “black death”. Since those initial days, I’ve learned a LOT and have only had 3 more losses since early June (one to a miss-shaped Chrysalis, one to an anal-prolapse while trying to form a Chrysalis, and one to a Tachinid fly parasite larva emerging after it J’ed but before it formed a Chrysalis).

    Now for the interesting news! We have a farmer friend who farms hundreds of acres of farmland in this neck of the woods (southern Michigan). My husband was talking to him yesterday about what we’re doing and he informed us that he’s been a butterfly enthusiast for decades and would like to see the “nursery” set up we made on the porch. He even asked my husband if he knew the difference between a Monarch and a Viceroy. I do, but my husband didn’t. Anyway, he said the DNR made him an offer to plant 20 acres of a “butterfly mix” and he took them up on it. That’s a combination of milkweed and flowers for the Monarchs. It would be a “nature takes it’s course” planting but 20 acres is great and I’m assuming they’re making the same offer to many other farmers in the area.

    1. https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79135_79218_79617-61323–,00.html

       Thought I would back this up by a link!

    2. hopefully more people will do the same. there is a gas station with a landscaped garden in the front of the station and the landscapers have left milk weed in the garden. i was sooooo happy!!!!this is in macedon n.y.

30. We are a learning community and so were are always in flux. I too find it frustrating to publish any commentary with headlines that are meant to get people to read…taglines. It is a media approach and often causes confusion and even anger. I also agree that the articles are mixing vocabulary which also causes confusion. The study in Chicago doesn’t apply to the citizen raising of monarchs. I appreciate your comments and hope that everyone can adjust our efforts in response to a long time of learning how to help nature. We do know that keeping the migrating monarchs in near real life habitats helps them rather than raising them in air-conditioned rooms. Also Monarch Watch published a response that indicated that the tagged citizen raised monarchs are making it to Mexico…. “One might get the impression from the paper that few reared, tagged and released monarchs reach the overwintering sites in Mexico. That is not the case, 33.5% of the recoveries in Mexico from 2004-2015 were of reared, tagged and released monarchs.” This percentage is significant in any research so we are making an impact. Thanks for your response and your efforts to continue the learning process.

31. What a shame that a single flawed study will probably have such a negative effect on those looking to raise monarchs in their home gardens. I always look at the money trail when checking out studies (like the one saying coconut oil was bad for you a few years ago that was funded by some canola oil association!) but I don ’t know if anyone would have something to gain that way with this one….?

32. THANK YOU for posting this! I did read the article an initially was so disappointed – thinking “I’m doing no good” and then began to think science or not, they don’t know what they’re talking about! I look at leaf after leaf for eggs, use your amazing tubes, keep them in enclosures on my outdoor patio and release them – very little different than God created them to be. The only difference is the preditors aren’t able to eat them from inside out or outside in! Your site has been so helpful throughout the years and I applaud you for keeping us informed!

33. Hi Tony, I’ve been fighting the misinformation in posts on Facebook and Quora. Even without having the PNAS paper in hand, it’s obvious that the methodology was “interesting” and the conclusions drawn went far beyond the results, even if the results had been valid.

    Commenters online have been accusing critics of the PNAS paper of denying “science” and being as bad as climate change deniers and anti-vaxxers. It’s clear that we need science reporters who know something about research, and readers who maintain some skepticism about breathlessness press releases.

34. Thank you for posting this! I read this and it didn’t make sense but was also concerning. I raise mine in the big tent in my kitchen which gets some natural light but not much change in temperature. I’ve considered moving them outside but we sometimes get evening thunderstorms. Should I attempt to move the tent outside for a little while each day when there are no storms?

    1. Hi Colleen, we keep ours in a porch with windows open and our migration generation is over-sized like they’re supposed to be. I think even just getting natural light near a window can make a difference. The more environmental cues they get the better. If you wanted to move a mesh cage outdoors that’s fine, just make sure it’s in a protected area. good luck!

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