News

Prairie intern: Dharma Fribley

Dharma Fribley is a 3rd year Landscape Architecture and International Studies major at ISU with a focus on Global Environmental Sustainability. This summer, she is exploring the differences in vegetative communities between remnant and reconstructed prairies across both Iowa and Minnesota!

Pollinator intern: Sharon Wirth

Sharon Wirth is a Pollinator Technician originally from St. Louis, Missouri, who is studying Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation and Ecology at Iowa State University with a minor in Entomology. This summer, she is surveying pollinator populations in saturated buffers and prairie strips!

Prairie Microbial Research: Monarch Intern Emma Donahey

Emma Donahey, returning monarch intern for the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium, shares an update on her prairie microbial research project. Currently, she is collecting floral microbes in both remnant and reconstructed prairies to assess whether community composition differs. This year, she is adding additional prairies across the state to broaden her research scope.

Monarch intern: Paxton Scott

Paxton Scott is a Research Assistant with the Iowa State University Monarch Butterfly Research Team. He is originally from Lawton, Iowa, and got his Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Science with a minor in Entomology. His interests are lepidopteran taxonomy and ecology. He recently has spent time surveying butterflies in the Peruvian Amazon and plans to pursue his PhD in lepidopteran ecology. 

No Mow May has become a popular practice where people refrain from mowing their lawns throughout May in the hopes of providing pollinators with flowers. However, the effectiveness of No Mow May for pollinator conservation is often debated. Learn more about the pros and cons of No Mow May, as well as some alternative options that will better support pollinators in your yard this spring!

Prairie Strips have become a common conservation tool in agriculture, but the question still remains as to whether these areas can truly support pollinators. After a decade of study, researchers at ISU say yes! Dr. Amy Toth has found that prairie strips support both a greater abundance and diversity of pollinators than what would otherwise be found in agricultural fields.

The 2025-26 overwintering numbers for the eastern monarch population have recently been announced and show an increase in size for the second year in a row! This year, monarchs occupied 7.24 acres (2.93 hectares), a 64% increase from last year's 4.42 acres (1.79 hectares).

Support Monarchs this Forever True Day

Join us in supporting monarch conservation on ISU's Forever True Day on April 1st - 2nd. Donations will support our Native Plant Network, providing free native plants at outreach events to increase monarch habitat in Iowa, and our new monarch radio telemetry research using innovative Bluetooth technology. Participants will also have the opportunity to win one of two prizes: a native pollinator garden landscape design consultation and the chance to name one of our tagged butterflies this summer and watch as it makes its way to Mexico this fall! Please consider giving to help support monarch conservation!

First record of US overwintering monarchs and winter-breeding monarchs roosting in same location

During the 2024/25 winter, researchers documented the first known co-occurrence of winter-breeding monarchs roosting in the same area as overwintering monarchs in California. While this occurrence has been noted before in Australia, it was the first time it has been reported in North America. In the coming years, scientists will continue to monitor any future co-occurrences to determine if the nearby presence of breeding monarchs impacts the behavior of overwintering individuals.

We're Hiring! Summer 2026 Internships

We’re hiring! This summer, the IMCC is hiring for 2 internship positions to conduct research on monarch populations, with 4 additional positions available in the KOB lab at ISU studying remnant and restored prairie habitats, as well as pollinator communities in agricultural areas. Visit https://faculty.sites.iastate.edu/kralob/research for more details and application information.

The Western Monarch population numbers for the 25/26 overwinter season were recently announced by the Xerces Society. 12,260 monarchs were recorded in California overwintering sites. Though this is a slight increase from last year, it is the 3rd lowest count since surveys began in 1997. Conservationists call for increased overwintering restoration efforts and better management of existing overwintering sites. 

New research from ISU shows that prairie strips can increase soil health at much faster rates than previously expected. Through increased soil stability, more organic matter, and a higher water-holding capacity, prairie strips improve the health of soils in agricultural areas.

Collaborating to increase native plants

In her newly published paper, Mykayla Hagaman, Program Specialist for the Consortium, looks into how incorporating native plants on a large scale in new suburban developments can provide multiple benefits to both pollinator and water conservation efforts. 

US Department of Interior pushes back deadline for monarch listing final decision

The US Department of Interior has pushed back the deadline for the final monarch listing decision. In its recent agency rule list, the department designated the monarch listing decision as a “long-term action” meaning that it is unlikely that a final decision will be made in the next 12 months. This pushes back the final decision to a fall 2026 date at the earliest.

Summary of monarch roosting sites across Iowa

Iowans reported 30 monarch roosting sites during this year’s fall migration! Combining reports from landowners and Journey North allowed us to assess timing of migration, tree selection, and landscape characteristics.

Seed balls vs seed paper: Which community conservation efforts are most effective?

One popular activity that has emerged to support monarch conservation is the use of seed balls, a mixture of clay, compost, and seeds that allows for the easy dispersal of milkweed seeds. However, the effectiveness of seed balls is not well understood. To test how seed balls affect milkweed germination, Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium alumni Emma Donahey and Kelsey Fisher compared the use of seed balls vs seed paper vs bare seed plantings.  

Monarchs in the classroom

The start of the fall semester is a great time to explore monarch conservation in the classroom! With the fall migration underway, there’s a plethora of opportunities to instill environmental education into everyday learning. Included in this month's blog are a few ideas for monarch-based classroom activities.

Monarch intern: Sophia Todora

Sophia is a summer field technician at Iowa State conducting plant surveys in the prairie pothole region of Minnesota. In the fall, Sophia attends Bemidji State University in Minnesota for wildlife biology, environmental science, and GIS. 

As thousands of monarch butterflies make their journey south to Mexico this fall, researchers with the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium (IMCC) are calling on Iowa landowners to help document this remarkable migration. "We are seeking reports from landowners if they have monarchs roosting on their property -- or from community members if they observe roosting monarchs on public lands," said Katherine Kral-O’Brien, with the IMCC. “Identifying these roosting locations provides critical data on migration pathways and helps scientists and conservationists protect and restore key habitats.”