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 Description | Requirement Level | Frequency | Datasheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Description of Monitoring Site | Required (Core) | Yearly | Datasheet |
| Milkweed Density | Optional (Core) | Yearly | Datasheet |
| Activity #1 Measuring Monarch Density | Optional (Core) | Weekly | Datasheets |
| Activity #2 Rainfall | Optional (Core) | Daily | Datasheet |
| Activity #3 Estimating Monarch Survival | Optional (Core) | Daily | Datasheet |
| Activity #4 Comparing Milkweed Characteristics | Optional (Core) | Weekly | Datasheets |
| Milkweed Aphid Distribution and Abundance | Optional (Supplemental) | Weekly | Datasheet |
| One Time Milkweed and Monarch Observations | Optional (Supplemental) | One Time | Datasheet |