Join us for the national Monarch Bioblitz July 23rd - August 1st
Join the Friends of los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve in surveying for and documenting the location of Monarch Butterflies, their caterpillars, and the milkweed plants they need.
Monarch populations have crashed all over the country. The decline of our Western populations has been dramatic according to recent surveys. This is a national effort from July 23 – August 1, 2021. No experience is needed.
We will coordinate our efforts in the North City parks and neighborhoods, including Peñasquitos Canyon, Black Mtn. Park, Carmel Mtn., and Del Mar Mesa. Even backyard sightings are welcomed! The Friends will survey areas where we have known and historic milkweed populations. We’ll try to coordinate teams of 2 or more, but individuals are welcome to go out on your own as well.
Sign up and learn more information at: https://www.monarchmilkweedmapper.org/
Download pictures of the Monarch butterfly, the caterpillars and two species of milkweed we might find in coastal San Diego. They are Narrow leaf milkweed (Asclepias fasiculatus) which definitely occurs here and possibly Woollypod milkweed (Asclepias eriocarpa). The non-native and sometimes harmful Tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) is likely to be found in some backyards and nurseries.
The home page of the website has a simple diagram of the 4-step process involved in surveying and submitting your sightings. It will be helpful if you have a smartphone. If you don’t you can work with someone that does. A good App to use for this would be iNaturalist. It’s free to download from any of the App stores, easy to install and easy to learn. If you’re new to it we can help you learn it in about 10 minutes in the field! Photos and IDs from iNaturalist can be easily uploaded to the Monarch website.
Contact Mike Kelly, conservation chair at kelly.mike8388@gmail.com or 858-863-7393 if you want to coordinate with us. We are coordinating the known data on Milkweed populations before the blitz begins.
