Dover celebrates the monarch butterfly with special festival July 19

By Reader Staff

Beyond its role as a pollinator and sustaining the ecosystem, the monarch butterfly is also the Idaho state insect. Joining bats, birds and other small creatures, butterflies and fellow pollinators are also responsible for at least ⅓ of the food humans eat. 

In recognition of the importance of the monarch butterfly, the city of Dover — with the support of Mayor George Eskridge and the Dover City Council — became a “Monarch City” in 2024. 

The Mighty Monarchs organization, along with the city of Dover, are celebrating the “Monarch City” title by hosting Dover’s Monarch Festival on Saturday, July 19 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at Railroad Spur/Fourth Street field. 

The event will feature a monarch flight house, where the public can interact with butterflies, a Monarch Jr. Ambassador Program activity for children, a petting zoo in the morning, face painting, food, music, and a variety of craft and community vendors.   

In addition to serving as food sources for other animals, monarch butterflies provide fibers and oils, prevent soil erosion and help with carbon sequestration, according to pollinators.org.

In recent years, there has been an increase in both awareness and actions to help protect and restore the monarch and its pollinator partners. This increased awareness is in part due to the decreasing numbers of bees, butterflies and other essential pollinators worldwide. Their habitats and food sources have also greatly diminished because of changes in climate, chemical use and the effects of urban growth. 

This past winter, the Xerces Society counted only 9,119 monarch butterflies overwintering in Northern California. The number of monarchs has reached a critical all-time low, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed to list the monarch as a threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. 

Monarch butterflies require milkweed for almost all their most critical needs. Female monarch butterflies will only lay eggs on milkweed, which is the sole food source for the insects’ larva. Milkweed has become scarcer for some of the same reasons that pollinator numbers are decreasing: herbicide use and urban development.

Local groups and individuals working to protect and enhance the monarch butterfly population ask that community members plant native milkweed and other native pollinating plants, commit to a pesticide-free residence, lend a hand to local habitat restoration efforts, consider donating to conservation efforts, increase awareness and understanding about the monarch butterfly and other pollinators, and attend Dover’s Monarch Festival on July 19.

For more info, contact the Mighty Monarch group at [email protected].