Monarch Waystation
WHAT IS A WAYSTATION?
Monarch Waystations are places that provide resources necessary for monarchs to produce successive generations and sustain their migration.
 Locations must have sun exposure, sufficient space to avoid overcrowding, nectar-producing plants, and absolutely must have milkweed!
MAKE your own waystation
Visit Monarch Watch Monarch Waystation Program to learn how to build your own waystation at home!
The importance of milkweed
Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) are a specialized species that require milkweed for their caterpillars. Milkweed makes monarchs poisonous, which deters predators.
Many milkweed species are under threat, as people remove them for industrial and agricultural development. This transformation of the natural landscape makes it difficult for monarchs to travel between their summer and overwintering sites and complete its life cycle.
MONARCH SAFE
The Abilene Zoo is part of the AZA Monarch SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction) program.
This collaborative effort works to ensure healthy populations of these iconic pollinators. Abilene Zoo supports by raising awareness in special events and by having a monarch waystation in the zoo.
Visit the waystation in front of the bird gardens and enjoy the parade of different pollinators throughout spring and summer, including Monarchs in the month of September/October!
monarch migration
