Archives

• Climate change is playing havoc with Mexico’s monarch butterfly migration January 21, 2020

  No one knows when millions of monarch butterflies began crisscrossing North America, spending their winters clustered on the same… Read more

• Floating like Butterflies September 20, 2019

  Monarch populations have rebounded after years of decline. “What we want,” says Oberhauser, “is for the monarch numbers we’ve been seeing this summer to be… Read more

• Arboretum Hosts Native Gardening Conference September 15 August 5, 2019

  Learn Sustainable Gardening Practices and How to Use Native Plants in Home Landscapes The UW–Madison Arboretum will host its 2019 Native Gardening Conference, “Native… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: How Are the Bees Doing This Season? August 2, 2019

  August brings peak summer bloom and the first hints of fall. In the garden, we are weeding, edging, trimming plants along paths and trails, updating… Read more

• Monarch Butterflies: Spring Migration and Habitat Restoration March 4, 2019

  Monarch butterflies are getting ready for a big journey north to Wisconsin. Karen Oberhauser was a guest on the Larry Meiller Show to talk about… Read more

• The Vanishing Flights of the Monarch Butterfly February 20, 2019

  “Walking around my family’s property in upstate New York last summer, I noticed something I hadn’t seen in years: scores of monarch butterflies flying around the… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Photography as a Garden Tool October 31, 2018

  In November, we may see frosty mornings and a few measurable early snowfalls. Leaves have mostly fallen and landscape colors are muted. Seed heads are… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: The Bumble Bee Flight Season Begins May 1, 2018

  Memory of this year’s late slow spring may dim this month as warmer temperatures and new growth move across the landscape. Garden areas with prescribed… Read more

• UW Arboretum Joins the Monarch Joint Venture January 17, 2018

  The University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum has joined the nationwide conservation cooperative the Monarch Joint Venture (MJV). The first arboretum to partner with the MJV,… Read more

• UW Arboretum Workshop Tracks Endangered Bees with Photos July 21, 2017

  “With a trained eye and quick finger stabbing the air, University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum native plant gardener Susan Carpenter counts off the bumble bees… Read more

• Bee Alert: Bumble Bees Are Struggling, but Still Alive in the UW Arboretum July 6, 2017

  “We’ve heard a lot about how habitat loss and pesticide use is affecting honey bee and monarch butterfly populations, but wild bee populations are feeling… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Supporting Monarch Populations May 31, 2017

  This month’s long days bring the transition from spring into summer. Our native plant garden activities include planting, weeding, edging, mulching, and mowing. We are… Read more

• How to Protect Our Disappearing Bumble Bees March 24, 2017

  “On March 21, the rusty-patched bumble bee, Bombus affinis, officially became the first bumble bee listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act. This designation recognizes… Read more

• Endangered Bumble Bee Gets Help from Citizen Scientists March 23, 2017

  The rusty-patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) was officially listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act on Tuesday, March 21. Citizen science projects contributed high… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Spring Transition March 1, 2017

  During March, the calendar—and sometimes the weather—turn to spring. By the end of the month, as temperatures rise and soils dry, we may see suitable… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: A Gardener’s Winter January 31, 2017

  February in southern Wisconsin brings variation in temperatures and precipitation—wet snows, ice, sleet, dipping temperatures, or thaws—true winter, or a hint of March. Outdoor garden… Read more

• Happy in the Arb, Endangered in the World January 13, 2017

  “This winter may now feel a shade lonelier for a handful of bumble bee princesses tucked away underground in the University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum, but… Read more

• Arboretum Prairies Offer Rare Refuge for Vanishing Bumblebee October 4, 2016

  “A proposal by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to seek endangered status for the rusty-patched bumblebee has focused renewed attention on bumblebees living at… Read more

• Photographer's Crusade to Save a Bumble Bee Leads to Wisconsin April 21, 2016

  In 2011, we learned that a rare bumble bee species, Bombus affinis, or the rusty-patched bumble bee, was foraging at the Arboretum. Since that discovery,… Read more