Monarch Larva Monitoring Project, Citizen Science

monarch, larva, butterfly Image courtesy of Derek Ramsey, via Wikimedia Commons

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Monarch Larva Monitoring Project

The Monarch Larva Monitoring Project (MLMP) is a citizen science project involving volunteers from across the United States and Canada in monarch research. It was developed by researchers at the University of Minnesota to collect long-term data on larval monarch populations and milkweed habitat.

The overarching goal of the project is to better understand how and why monarch populations vary in time and space, with a focus on monarch distribution and abundance during the breeding season in North America.

This project should not be confused with Project MonarchHealth.

Project Details

PRINCIPAL SCIENTIST: Karen Oberhauser
SCIENTIST AFFILIATION: University of Minnesota, Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary Foundation
DATES: Ongoing
LOCATION: - U.S. and Canada
PROJECT TYPE: Fieldwork
COST: $20-$50
GRADE LEVEL: All Ages
TIME COMMITMENT: Variable
HOW TO JOIN:
Start by creating an account on the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project Web site. There are two primary ways to get involved: 1) Sign-Up to monitor a patch of milkweed weekly, or 2) Submit occasional Anecdotal Observations.

See more projects in $20-$50, Fieldwork, All Ages.

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What is Citizen Science?

Research often involves teams of scientists collaborating across continents. Now, using the power of the Internet, non-specialists are participating, too. Citizen Science falls into many categories. A pioneering project was SETI@Home, which has harnessed the idle computing time of millions of participants in the search for extraterrestrial life. Citizen scientists also act as volunteer classifiers of heavenly objects, such as in Galaxy Zoo. They make observations of the natural world, as in The Great Sunflower Project. And they even solve puzzles to design proteins, such as FoldIt. We'll add projects regularly—and please tell us about others you like as well.