Spring is a time of rebirth and, for many of us, it’s ecstatically welcomed after a long, cold winter. Soon the tourists will return but, before that, we’ll start seeing ruby-throated hummingbirds, spring peepers, and monarch butterflies in Missouri. When the monarch butterflies arrive in Missouri, they’ll need a place to lay eggs and feed, and you can help with both.

After spending winters in Mexico, monarch butterflies begin their journey north – landing in states all across the country, including Missouri. The butterflies usually make their first appearances in Missouri in April.
Flickr/Suzanne Schroeter
Monarchs then begin their journey south to Mexico, where they will spend the winter, in the late summer, from August through September.
Flickr/Peter Miller
Unfortunately, the number of monarch butterflies has significantly decreased in recent years, earning them a spot on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s list of endangered species in 2022.
Flickr/James Stutzman
Numerous factors – the use of pesticides and insecticides, for example – have played a role in their dwindling numbers. Climate change and lack of milkweed have also contributed to their endangered status.
Flickr/William Warby

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If you want to help monarch butterflies, plant milkweed in your yard or even in a planter. Monarchs lay their eggs in the milkweed and, days later, caterpillars hatch. The milkweed houses the caterpillars until their transformation, usually two to three weeks later, into butterflies.
Flickr/Dan Mullen
Missouri is home to 18 types of milkweed, although some are more common than others, including common, whorled, swamp, and purple milkweed.
Flickr/Keith Avery
You can also grow flowers off of which the monarch butterflies will feed. Sunflowers, black-eyed Susans, marigolds, and zinnias are among those flowers that will attract butterflies.
Flickr/Jim, the Photographer
Find more information on the Missouri Department of Conservation website or the Monarch Migration website.
Flickr/pontla

Are you ready for the return of monarch butterflies in Missouri? Do you plant milkweed for them? Let us know in the comments! Spring also means the return of the ruby-throated hummingbirds in Missouri.

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