Our Impact

The Monarch Butterfly, Danaus plexippus, is to many people the most fascinating insect on Earth. As described in the PBS clip above, Monarchs are not just a beautiful black and orange butterfly. 

Monarch Butterflies have an incredible life cycle. Every spring, first generation Monarch caterpillars are born from eggs deposited on milkweed plants by the mother butterflies in the United States and Canada. The caterpillars only feed on leaves of plants in the milkweed family, often the same plant on which they were born. After the caterpillars reach adulthood, they form a chrysalis in which they perform a magnificent metamorphosis into an adult butterfly.

From this early description, Monarchs sound like nearly every other insect. However, the next part of their journey sets them apart. The cycle described above occurs approximately three times in a calendar year, from spring until fall. The third generation butterfly is what many call a "Super Monarch." The Super Monarch's job is to travel south from the States and Canada all the way to a small forest in Mexico where it will rest, overwinter, and then migrate back north in the spring for the cycle to begin again. As stated in the video above, the Monarch migration is in grave danger.

Scientists have noticed that the amount of forest area in Mexico covered in Monarchs each winter is dwindling rapidly. As shown in the graph below from our friends in the organization Monarch Watch, in just the past decade, a drastic decrease in the migrating Monarch population is being observed. At the precipitously dropping rate shown, there may not be many more years left for the Monarch's migration - unless we act, and act decisively.

We are an active, grassroots movement that will engage people door-to-door, engage our leaders in public office and engage our children in an epic campaign to save the Monarch Butterfly. Join us.

Pennies for Monarchs is making change through a few specific actions, which set us apart from every other Monarch conservation organization on the planet.

1) We are engaging people where they are in a door-to-door campaign. Imagine a person running for office. We are conducting a campaign with the same urgency, meeting people at their own homes, and educating them about the Monarch. We’re also connecting them with milkweed seeds/plants, and information about what they can do in their own yard to be a part of the solution.

2) We are engaging with leaders in public office to move them to make commitments. We work with several other organizations on this point in a united, comprehensive way so that our leaders commit to concrete action in their own communities that will make a difference.

3) We engage our children in classrooms and at events across America. To build #TheMigration of support that will last, we must ensure our kids understand that they could be the last generation to see a Monarch Butterfly, or the first to save it forever. That impact is completely in their hands - and we’re ensuring they understand its importance.

Find a full listing of our programs by clicking here. Let’s do this.