Live Monarch Foundation - butterfly release

Monarch Facts / Free Milkweed Seeds / Order Live Butterflies / Mixed Varieties

Why our butterflies are the best! GUARANTEED

We raised butterflies as part of our commitment to improve Monarch genetics and share clean stock with fellow breeders. Our south Florida location was a year-round hub of Monarch activity. Since moving to Georgia, our focus has been on seeds and support for other programs. Our butterfly rearing days which required lots of round-the-clock effort, have ended, and our partners do this demanding task. We aim to educate everyone in the United States and beyond about habitat loss and what they can do to assist native animals. A major part of that commitment is the free training and seeds we offer to restore habitats and to help native butterflies thrive in Natural conditions. Hopefully, your backyard!

These two pictures are of our previous state-of-the-art facility in South Florida. It housed over 20,000 milkweed plants at any given time. It was certified to ship plants to all states and is completely pest proof, so we never used pesticides. We are currently building a 365-day self-heated Greenhouse in GA the weather makes this quite a task and has proven more demanding in time and resources than expected. When it is complete, we will again offer live plants widely and hopefully lower the cost of milkweed, which has increased 8-15X since we stopped production.

The picture at left is of a bare root cutting only 30 days old. Grown in oxygenated water with controlled nutrients to promote fast and stress free growth. The resulting plants are incredibly healthy. Caterpillars know the difference and this results in super healthy, long lived butterflies. This high tech system eliminates the concern of raising livestock with paracites. Our total commitment starts before the first seed is planted and extends well beyond an order or butterfly release.

A milkweed in every yard and the skies filled with color forever.

Butterflies are beautiful! but not all are created equal. If you are looking for the most magical experience possible...it is all in the breeding. Buy based on commitment and quality as looking at price alone may ruin an otherwise perfect memory.

99% of all problems are eliminated by using reputable breeders. Please help us protect Nature and these beautiful and meaningful event releases for future generations. These questions have helped improve the Butterfly release industry and it is our commitment to further the spread of best practices and no excuses for less then perfect experiences for all involved.

Ask the following questions:

Do you personally raise your butterflies?

Yes, is the best answer as this person should be able to answer the following questions easily. Many of the businesses that offer butterflies do not raise their own and may unknowingly be supporting substandard practices. We have seen illegally imported, wild caught and disease ridden butterflies shipped to weddings and events only to die in transit or ruin the event by their poor appearance or weak condition after release. It is a crime to ship illegally wild caught butterflies and hurts local populations.
What do you feed your caterpillars?

Unfortunately some breeders due to their location are unable to grow enough healthy plants to feed their caterpillars and resort to artificial diets. These diets typically produce, small butterflies. If you are going to spend the money for a large Monarch would you be as happy with one that is half the size? The other sad fact is that a smaller butterfly will not be as likely to mate or survive as long once released.
How long have you been raising / selling butterflies?

This question is primarily for evaluation of the business and wheather they will be there later to help you with any unforeseen problems.
How many butterflies do you raise in a season?

You should always seek out newly emerged butterflies for your event. Breeders with few butterflies to offer may send older individuals which may not arrive alive and will have lost much of their bright coloration.
How do you pack your butterflies for shipment?

This is a very important question as some do a miserable job. Butterflies must be individually packaged in clear envelopes or thin folded boxes and shipped in a refrigerated container by overnight delivery if coming from a distance. Many businesses do not warranty the safe delivery and if a problem occurs you are responsible.
Are your butterflies guaranteed disease free? Do you check?

This is where you need to scare them a little. You only want disease free butterflies and will be very unhappy (charge back) if the butterflies that arrive are not perfect. Unfortunately too few people know anything about butterflies and allow substandard practices to continue. The release of any butterfly should be a wonderful gift to the environment. Please help us make that a reality before the practice is outlawed because of the shady practices of a few bad apples.
What is your satisfaction guarantee?

Without a written guarantee you may be without recourse if there is a problem. You want a complete satisfaction guarantee including shipping charges.

For the past several years we have carefully evaluated each facet in the butterfly lifecycle and know exactly how to keep butterflies and their off spring healthy, happy and prolific. It all begins with very healthy disease free plants. Without perfect plants the caterpillars are stressed and you get smaller butterflies with less vigor and shorter life spans. We have switched largely from ground grown to hydroponically grown plants. The plants are nearly perfect: Disease free, parasite free, fast growing and have low toxicity. Caterpillars love the leaves and the results are clearly noticeable in their size and overall health. We believe artificial diets should only be a last resort to stave off starvation and not the primary food source for rapidly growing caterpillars. Again our commitment is to the creation of new habitats for butterflies and the promotion and creation of naturally sustainable plant resources.