Mission Monarch: engaging the Canadian public for the conservation of a species at risk

Migratory populations of monarch butterflies have declined substantially in North America. In Canada, where the monarch is listed as a species at risk, protecting the butterfly’s critical breeding habitat has been identified as a conservation priority. However, protection of the breeding habitats in this country was not readily possible due to the scarcity of monarch breeding data. Here, we describe Mission Monarch, a community science program launched in 2016 to address this knowledge gap. We compare the Mission Monarch dataset with the datasets of eButterfly, iNaturalist and the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project, three other longer-established community science programs, to highlight the unique knowledge gap that Mission Monarch helps fill at national to continental scales. Even though Mission Monarch is a relatively young program, it has already provided more records of monarch caterpillars and milkweed than any other Canadian dataset from the aforementioned programs near the species’ northern range. It has become the main monarch breeding monitoring program in Canada. We discuss the relevance of community science in filling knowledge gaps and addressing conservation issues. Community science programs can be specifically designed to fill knowledge gaps for insect conservation. They can be unique, yet complementary to other established programs.