Did you know June is pollinator month? According to the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, there are approximately 200,000 different species worldwide that act as pollinators, approximately 17,500 of those are butterfly species, and approximately 700 of those butterfly species are native to North America. Monarch butterflies are just one of many native pollinators in our region. Jeanne Megel, author of Raise Healthy Monarchs at Home, returns to Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden to share her knowledge about monarchs. Learn what to plant in a butterfly garden, identifying monarch eggs, insect development from egg to butterfly, first aid, and more! 

Copies of the book will be available for purchase following the author's talk, cash or check only. Wish to read ahead? CLICK HERE to purchase your copy of Raise Healthy Monarchs at Home.

Part of the Chip Callaway Lecture Series.

$5 Adult / Free PJCBG members

Questions? Contact Kristin Hennig, Programs Officer, at kristin@pjcbg.org or 336-996-7888.

About the Speaker

Jeanne Megel was born and raised in Colorado Springs, CO and has been an animal lover all her life. She holds a degree in Biology from Nebraska Wesleyan University. Her interest in animals led her to activities like scuba diving, exploring the Amazon jungle and taking a course in Shark Handling at UNEXO where she learned to hand feed sharks. She then taught a course on shark conservation to thousands of people of all ages on two continents and was given the PADI Project Award for her efforts on behalf of these majestic and misunderstood denizens of the deep. After moving to Florida, and becoming unable to dive, she learned of the rapidly dwindling numbers of monarch butterflies and slowly began to learn everything she could, until she was hand raising and releasing around 500 per season. Upon relocating to Jamestown, NC, where the season is much shorter, she developed a class on monarchs to teach local groups how they could help this at risk species by raising butterflies at home. Her first book, Raise Healthy Monarchs At Home, shares her knowledge and enthusiasm for assisting this beautiful pollinator in its journey for survival with an emphasis on releasing only healthy butterflies that will not contribute to existing parasite issues.