Train to survey for monarchs and regal fritillaries

Help document rare butterflies across Nebraska by getting trained to monitor for regal fritillaries and monarchs at one of two upcoming events.

Trainings for the community science effort are:

• May 20: 1 to 5 p.m. at Homestead National Historical Park, 8523 NE-4, Beatrice
• June 3: 1 to 5 p.m. at Schramm Park State Recreation Area, 21502 W. Highway 31, Gretna

Register to attend one of the trainings through their event listings at Calendar.OutdoorNebraska.gov. Only one training session is required to survey for the butterflies.

The first hour of the training sessions will be dedicated to gaining general information on monarchs, regal fritillaries, common plants and other community science opportunities; anyone is welcome. Those wanting to survey for the butterflies will learn about survey methods during the remaining time.

Those unable to attend a session, but who still wish to be part of the butterfly effort, can train via virtual recording on the “Nebraska Game and Parks Education” Youtube channel; participants should watch all videos in the Butterfly Survey Training playlist.

Butterfly surveys will be conducted statewide between June 15 and Aug. 15 at assigned locations.

The effort to monitor populations of monarchs and regal fritillaries across their range began in Nebraska in 2015. The goal is to better understand them in order to provide more effective conservation. The expansive survey is not possible without the help of volunteers. Learn more about the effort at OutdoorNebraska.gov; search “monarch survey.”

For more information on the training sessions, contact Cody Dreier, survey organizer, at cody.dreier@nebraska.gov or 402-471-1755.