Google will spend $500,000 to create new monarch and other pollinator habitat

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on their campuses in California.

Google will spend $500,000 to create new monarch and other pollinator habitat on our Bay Area and Southern California campuses. And Google.org is granting $500,000 across the Xerces Society and Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), to help protect and restore hundreds of acres of important monarch habitat where it matters most across California, including habitat restoration south of San José in coordination with the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority.

We’ll also be sponsoring research to understand the science behind why the monarch population is crashing and will be monitoring monarchs on our Bay Area campuses to observe their habitat use, sharing our findings with local organizations and agency scientists to help identify other potential efforts that can reverse the trend. - Google

[global1]

1. For The Last Two Years I've Had Milkweed In My Garden and My Neighbors Garden....

Milkweed is what Monarch's feed on. Last year we had Monarch's flying around taking advantage of our Milkweed.

This year - the Milkweed sprouted up and spread and my neighbor and I have more Milkweed than we've had the last few years.

The problem, however, we have yet to see even one Monarch Butterfly this year.

I'm wondering if we might be looking for them too early in the season - or - is there something else going on that they just didn't show up this year.

Oh well - we still have the rest of the summer yet.

ADDED ON EDIT: I failed to say - I'm in a near western suburb of Chicago.

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2. Monarch Butterflies Collapse In California; 30-Year Decline 99%

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1127145482

Thank you for making a Monarch Waystation. I know of several places where there are milkweeds. About half are on people's property. None of us has seen a monarch around where we live for over a year. Their numbers have just been decimated.

[pjpossum]

3. I live in the San Fernando Valley

I have had a few monarchs every day for weeks. I have milkweed seeds that I haven't planted yet. I purchased them from the Theodore Payne Foundation. A great organization. They have lots of California Native plants & seeds

https://theodorepayne.org/plants-and-seeds/nursery/retail-nursery/

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4. You can plant them any time. It's a tuber plant that takes several years to mature.

The sooner you get them started the sooner you'll have flowers. Waiting until next spring will just delay them for another six months.

[pjpossum]

5. I have a number of flowering plants.

The bees & hummingbirds each like certain ones. Ido have a non-CA native milkweeds. Tried to upload a pic, but have to figure out how to do it.

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6. Just so long as it's not the one that grows in Mexico. That thing is taking over.

"Mexican milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) is also known as tropical milkweed and is not a native plant...There's quite the debate about whether it's wise to plant Asclepias curassavica or not.

The Cockrell Butterfly Center in Texas has put out the following message about Mexican milkweed recently... Biologists studying monarchs have discovered that tropical milkweed may be a factor in the spread of a parasitic infection that attacks monarchs. (link)

[pjpossum]

7. It's not.

I research plants before I put them in my yard. I try my best to avoid invasive ones. I even plant my different mints in containers so that they can't spread.

[pjpossum]

8. I'm not sure where you are located.

Please check out the Theodore Payne Foundation. I posted a link above. He was a horticulturist instrumental in categorizing and seed saving for native California plants.