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MLMP Activities and Datasheets

The MLMP has several different activities. Together, these activities help us track monarch populations, understand monarch use of available habitat, and investigate factors, such as weather and parasitism, which affect monarch populations.

Are you monitoring with kids? Check out our tips here!

Choosing an Activity

You can choose to do as many or as few MLMP activities as you'd like, but in particular, we encourage:

The more activities you complete, the more we learn, but please only do what you have the time and energy to complete. Print the datasheets (see below), bring them with you to your monitoring site to complete, then login to enter your data online. Please send us hard copies of your data at the end of the summer so we can check our database for accuracy.

Activity DescriptionRequirement LevelFrequencyDatasheets
Description of Monitoring SiteRequired (Core)YearlyDatasheet
Milkweed DensityOptional (Core)YearlyDatasheet
Activity #1 Measuring Monarch DensityOptional (Core)WeeklyDatasheets
Activity #2 RainfallOptional (Core)DailyDatasheet
Activity #3 Estimating Monarch SurvivalOptional (Core)DailyDatasheet
Activity #4 Comparing Milkweed CharacteristicsOptional (Core)WeeklyDatasheets
Milkweed Aphid Distribution and AbundanceOptional (Supplemental)WeeklyDatasheet
One Time Milkweed and Monarch ObservationsOptional (Supplemental)One TimeDatasheet

Mailing Address

Monarch Larva Monitoring Project
UW–Madison Arboretum
1207 Seminole Highway
Madison, WI 53711