Burlington, Vermont, March 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A new study published in Science reveals a startling 22% decline in butterfly populations across the U.S. over the past two decades, with Monarch butterflies (Danaus Plexippus) suffering particularly severe losses. The latest Western Monarch Count recorded just 9,119 butterflies—a staggering 96% drop from last year’s 233,394. Adding to the urgency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed listing the monarch butterfly as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act due to dramatic population declines. Scientists warn that habitat destruction, climate change, and pesticide use are driving the crisis, but gardeners and community members can take immediate action to help.
Why This Matters
Butterflies are beloved for their beauty, but they’re also essential to healthy ecosystems. As pollinators, they play a vital role in food production and flower lifecycles. Three-fourths of the world’s flowering plants and about 35 percent of the world’s food crops depend on animal pollinators to reproduce. That’s one out of every three bites of food you eat. Agricultural crops like coffee, cocoa, fruits, vegetables and nuts rely heavily on pollinators and are especially at risk. Experts emphasize that reversing this trend will require widespread habitat restoration and a shift toward pollinator-friendly practices.
Xerces Society reports that Monarch numbers have plummeted by approximately 80% in the eastern population and 95% in the western population since the 1980s. The overwintering area occupied by eastern monarchs in Mexico has shrunk to just 2.2 acres—down from nearly 45 acres in the late 1990s—while western monarch counts in California suggest one of the lowest recorded population years. These sharp declines highlight the critical need for habitat restoration and pollinator-friendly gardening to help reverse the trend.
Why Your Space Truly Matters
Monarch Butterflies (Danaus plexippus) are one of nature’s greatest migrators, with their survival depending on an annual multi-generational migration cycle. Eastern monarchs travel up to 3,000 miles between Canada and Mexico, while western monarchs follow a shorter route to overwintering sites along the California coast. Unlike many butterflies that can overwinter as larvae, pupae, or adults, monarchs cannot survive cold northern winters.
Their survival, however, depends on finding food and shelter along the way. Without waystations—pockets of habitat filled with milkweed and nectar-rich wildflowers—monarchs risk starvation and exhaustion before they reach their destination. Historically, prairies, meadows, and wildflower-rich landscapes provided these essential pit stops, but urbanization, industrial agriculture, and habitat loss have left dangerous gaps in their migration route. By planting pollinator-friendly gardens, even small spaces like backyards, balconies, and community gardens can serve as vital steppingstones, helping monarchs complete their journey and sustain their remarkable migration for future generations.
The good news? It doesn’t take acres of land to make a difference. Even small-scale plantings can help fuel monarchs on their migration. A garden with just 10 milkweed plants and a mix of spring-to-fall blooming nectar flowers can provide life-saving resources. Planting wildflowers along roadsides, in community spaces, or in containers on patios helps rebuild the migratory corridor that monarchs desperately need. By creating habitat in our own spaces, we can collectively transform fragmented landscapes into thriving pollinator pathways—one waystation at a time.
Simple Steps to Support Monarchs and Pollinators
American Meadows, called “the destination for anyone looking to cultivate a sustainable, meadow-inspired yard” by House Beautiful, is empowering home gardeners to be part of the solution. Growing pollinator-friendly gardens and meadows within residential landscapes can provide critical refuge for Monarchs and other butterflies.
- Plant Nectar-Rich Wildflowers To Nourish Butterflies: Perennial wildflowers like Milkweed, Coneflower, Asters, Goldenrods, Monarda, Joe Pye Weed, and Liatris are essential food sources for butterflies, as well as annual favorites such as Zinnias and Cosmos. The new Monarch Highway Native Wildflower Seed Mix from American Meadows is designed to attract and nourish Monarchs all season long and for many years to come.
- Plant Native Wildflowers & Grasses For Butterfly Host Plants: It takes more than nectar to entice butterflies to take up residence in your garden. While nectar-rich flowers attract passersby to stop and feed, host plants send an invitation to stay a while. Larval host plants are the secret to successful butterfly gardening; they are plants required by a caterpillar for growth and development. By planting host plants in your garden, you offer a promise of food for the next generation and will attract more butterflies than you thought possible. Milkweed and Butterfly Weed (plants in the Asclepias family), are the essential host plant for Monarch butterflies.
- Get A Head Start On Your Butterfly Garden: Expertly designed pollinator gardens, such as American Meadow’s Monarch Magnet Pre-Planned Garden and Eastern Monarch Refuge Plant Collection, make it easy to start your own butterfly -friendly habitat.
- Certify Your Yard As A Monarch Waystation: A Monarch Waystation is an intentionally-managed garden that provides food and habitat for Monarch Butterflies. By growing a minimum of 10 Asclepias host plants, as well as a variety of nectar plants with blooms from spring through fall, you’ll provide a reliable food source for adult butterflies throughout the growing season.
- Ditch Harmful Chemicals: It’s essential to avoid pesticides and herbicides that harm butterflies and other pollinators. Opt for organic gardening methods instead, for a garden that’s better for butterflies, and better for people and pets, too.
- Think Beyond the Backyard: Even gardeners with small urban yards, balconies, or patios, can support pollinators. Container gardens and sidewalk plantings with nectar-rich flowers provide vital resources for butterflies.
- Encourage Community Action: Educating neighbors and displaying pollinator-friendly yard signs can inspire collective efforts to protect these vital species.
A Call to Action
“We are at a critical moment for Monarchs and pollinators,” says Tabar Gifford, Master Gardener and Partnership Cultivator at American Meadows. “We all have the power to make a real impact by planting with purpose. Every flower, every wildflower patch, and every pesticide-free yard contributes to the recovery of Monarch populations.”
American Meadows provides a wide selection of pollinator-friendly plants, wildflower seed mixes, and expert guidance to help gardeners create thriving butterfly habitats. With decades of experience in sustainable gardening, they make it easy to plant with purpose—whether through backyard meadows, native wildflower plantings, or small container gardens for pollinators. By offering curated collections, educational resources, and practical gardening solutions, American Meadows empowers individuals to restore essential habitats for Monarchs and other pollinators. Together, gardeners can transform landscapes into vital butterfly havens—one bloom at a time.
To learn more about how you can help, visit https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/resources/meadowscaping/pollinator-garden-design
About American Meadows
American Meadows is Doing Good Through Gardening. Their innovative wildflower seed mixes, pre-planned perennial gardens, and lawn alternatives are a go-to for gardeners shopping online. With over 40 years of experience and 650,000 happy customers, they are the authority in meadowscaping. To learn more, explore available products, and find the best options for your unique needs, visit AmericanMeadows.com.
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How to Create a Pollinator Garden: https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/resources/meadowscaping/pollinator-garden-design
How to Grow Asclepias: https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/resources/meadowscaping/how-to-grow-milkweed
Find Plants to Attract Butterflies and Pollinators: https://www.americanmeadows.com/category/perennials/spring-planted-perennials/attracts-butterflies-hummingbirds
Find Seeds to Support Pollinators: https://www.americanmeadows.com/category/wildflower-seeds/attracting-pollinators
All About Meadowscaping: https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/resources/meadowscaping
Visit American Meadows Pollinator Learning Center: https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/meadowscaping/pollinators
Attachments
- Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) enjoying it’s host plant Milkweed (Asclepias). Planting Milkweed and pollinator friendly flowers can make a critical difference in saving these beloved butterflies.
- Adult Monarchs require a diverse array of nectar rich plants; here a female Monarch feast on Asters, a favorite fall food source.
Tabar Gifford American Meadows ltabar@americanmeadows.com
