Monarchs Are Back

Monarchs Are Back! Why Their Journey Through Central Texas Matters

Monarchs are back! Every spring and fall, these remarkable butterflies travel through Central Texas as part of one of nature’s most extraordinary migrations. Some journey more than 2,000 miles between their northern breeding grounds and the mountains of Mexico. However, their survival is increasingly threatened by habitat loss, pesticides, and changing environmental conditions. Fortunately, homeowners throughout our region can help give these beautiful butterflies a better chance.

As a lifelong Central Texas resident and real estate broker, I’ve watched San Marcos, Kyle, Buda, New Braunfels, and surrounding communities experience tremendous growth. New neighborhoods bring opportunities for families and businesses, but development also changes the natural environment. That’s why I believe we have a responsibility to help protect the wildlife that makes Central Texas special.

For more than a decade, Walker Texas Team has distributed over 20,000 free packets of milkweed and Black-eyed Susan seeds to help monarch butterflies, honeybees, and other pollinators. Our goal was simple: encourage homeowners to grow beautiful flowers while giving something back to the environment and communities we serve.

When monarchs are back in Central Texas, I hope some of those flowers are helping them along their journey.

Monarchs Are Back: An Incredible Journey Across North America

Imagine an insect weighing less than a paperclip traveling thousands of miles across an entire continent. That’s precisely what some monarch butterflies accomplish every year.

Each fall, monarchs from Canada and the northern United States begin flying south toward the mountains of central Mexico. There, enormous numbers gather in high-elevation forests, clustering together on oyamel fir trees to survive the winter.

What’s particularly fascinating is that these butterflies have never made the journey before. Unlike birds that may learn migration routes from their parents, monarchs rely on inherited biological instincts, environmental cues, and an internal biological clock.

When monarchs are back in Mexico each winter, they’re completing a journey started by butterflies from earlier generations. As spring approaches, the surviving butterflies begin traveling north again.

Their first major breeding areas include Texas, where female monarchs search for emerging milkweed plants to lay their eggs. Their offspring continue moving northward, with additional generations eventually reaching Canada and the northern United States.

According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, Texas plays a critical role because it lies between the monarchs’ northern breeding grounds and their overwintering habitat in Mexico.

When Are Monarchs Back in Central Texas?

Central Texas residents generally have two opportunities each year to observe the monarch migration. Spring brings butterflies traveling north, while fall brings those heading south toward Mexico.

Spring Monarch Migration: March and April

Monarchs begin returning from Mexico in early March, searching for milkweed plants where they can lay their eggs. As temperatures rise, their offspring continue the journey north.

The spring migration is particularly important because Texas provides some of the first breeding habitat these butterflies encounter after leaving Mexico.

When monarchs are back during spring, milkweed becomes essential. Without suitable host plants, females cannot successfully reproduce.

Fall Monarch Migration: September Through October

Fall migration generally begins reaching Texas in late September and continues through October. According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, most monarchs using the primary inland corridor have passed into Mexico by early November.

However, the coastal migration route can remain active into mid-November, and occasional late migrants may still be seen elsewhere.

During the fall of 2026, Journey North documented monarch roosts reaching Texas in September, followed by reports of butterflies entering Mexico during October.

If you’d like to see where monarchs are being observed, Journey North’s migration maps allow residents to follow sightings across North America.

Why Is It Important That Monarchs Are Back?

Monarch butterflies are beautiful, but their importance extends beyond their distinctive orange-and-black wings.

Adult monarchs visit flowering plants to collect nectar, transferring some pollen as they move between flowers. Although bees are generally more efficient pollinators for many plants, butterflies contribute to healthy ecosystems.

Monarchs also have a unique relationship with milkweed. Female butterflies lay their eggs on these plants, and monarch caterpillars depend on milkweed leaves for food.

Without milkweed, monarchs cannot complete their reproductive cycle. Adult butterflies, meanwhile, need nectar-producing flowers to fuel their migration.

Consequently, restoring native milkweed and flowering habitat can benefit monarch butterflies while also supporting other insects and wildlife.

When monarchs are back in our region, they remind us how interconnected our environment really is. The plants growing in our yards, fields, and parks can influence the availability of food and breeding habitat for these migrating butterflies.

For me, preserving that connection is part of protecting the natural beauty that makes Central Texas such a special place to live.

Monarchs Are Back, But Are Their Populations Recovering?

Unfortunately, monarch butterfly populations have experienced substantial declines over the past several decades.

Scientists have identified several contributing factors, including the loss of native milkweed, habitat destruction, pesticides, changing weather patterns, and threats to the forests where monarchs spend the winter.

However, there’s some encouraging news.

In March 2026, researchers announced that eastern monarch butterflies occupied approximately 2.93 hectares of forest in Mexico during the 2025–2026 wintering season. That’s an increase from 1.79 hectares during the previous winter.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, the occupied forest area increased approximately 64% compared with the previous year.

Researchers measure the forest area occupied by wintering colonies rather than counting every butterfly individually. Therefore, the figures provide an important population indicator, not an exact butterfly count.

Although the improvement is encouraging, monarch populations remain vulnerable.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed listing monarch butterflies as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. As of November 2026, a final federal listing rule has not taken effect.

The fact that monarchs are back each year is encouraging, but protecting their habitat remains essential to their long-term survival.

How Central Texas Development Affects Monarch Habitat

I’ve lived in Central Texas my entire life, and the changes I’ve witnessed are remarkable. Areas that were once farmland, ranchland, wooded properties, and open fields are now subdivisions, shopping centers, schools, and commercial developments.

As a real estate professional, I understand the importance of growth. Families need homes, businesses need places to operate, and communities need infrastructure.

However, development also changes the natural environment.

When native vegetation is cleared, butterflies and other pollinators can lose valuable sources of food, shelter, and breeding habitat. Milkweed and native wildflowers often disappear along with the open spaces.

These changes don’t occur only on large development sites. Individual landscaping decisions can also affect the availability of pollinator habitat.

I don’t believe supporting development and protecting our environment have to be opposing goals. Instead, I believe we should look for opportunities to accomplish both.

If we want future generations to celebrate that monarchs are back, we need to consider how our growing communities can provide suitable habitat.

Imagine if new subdivisions incorporated more native flowering plants into their parks, common areas, neighborhood entrances, and residential landscaping.

We may not replace every acre of natural habitat that’s lost, but we can make an effort to restore some of it.

Monarchs Are Back: Our 20,000 Seed Packet Initiative

About 10 years ago, Walker Texas Team began distributing free wildflower seeds to encourage homeowners to plant flowers that could benefit monarch butterflies, honeybees, and other pollinators.

What started as a simple community initiative eventually grew into something much larger.

Over the past decade, we’ve distributed more than 20,000 individual packets containing milkweed and Black-eyed Susan seeds throughout Central Texas.

Thousands of packets were mailed to homeowners in subdivisions around San Marcos and Kyle. Those mailings included informational flyers and planting instructions, while each individual bag contained seeds, planting information, and a Walker Texas Team business card.

We also gave packets away at business expos, neighborhood gatherings, local events, and our Summer in the Park concerts. Sometimes we simply handed them to people we met around town.

Whenever monarchs are back in Central Texas, I’m reminded of why we started distributing those little bags of seeds in the first place.

We wanted to encourage people to plant something beautiful that might also help pollinators survive.

The Time and Resources Behind Those Little Seed Packets

What many people probably don’t realize is how much work went into preparing and distributing those packets.

I’ve personally paid for seeds, packaging materials, printing, and the labor required to assemble and distribute them. When you consider preparing more than 20,000 individual bags, organizing mailings, and distributing packets at community events, you’re talking about hundreds, potentially thousands, of hours of work over the years.

There were certainly easier and less expensive promotional items we could have handed out. However, I wanted to give people something that might actually benefit our communities.

In 2018, Walker Texas Team also supported San Marcos’ first Butterfly Festival and the city’s Monarch City initiative. We helped promote the event and distributed butterfly weed to local residents.

You can read about that involvement on our Walker Texas Team Community Service page.

To this day, I have no idea how many packets were eventually planted, how many flowers grew, or how many butterflies and bees benefited.

Still, I’d like to think there are gardens around San Marcos, Kyle, and surrounding communities that started with one of those little packets.

If some of those gardens are helping monarchs find food during their migration, I’m glad we made the effort.

Monarchs Are Back, and Honeybees Need Flowers Too

Although monarch butterflies were a major reason behind our seed giveaways, they weren’t the only pollinators we wanted to help.

Honeybees and native bees are also important to our gardens, agricultural systems, and natural environment. They visit flowering plants to collect nectar and pollen, helping many plants reproduce.

That’s one reason our seed packets included Black-eyed Susans along with milkweed.

Black-eyed Susans produce cheerful yellow flowers that attract various bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. Milkweed flowers also provide nectar, while their leaves serve as essential food for monarch caterpillars.

Honeybees are not native to North America, but they’re important managed pollinators for agriculture. Native Texas bees also deserve protection because many have specialized relationships with our native flowering plants.

When monarchs are back in Central Texas, they’re sharing many flowering resources with honeybees, native bees, and other insects.

That’s why a variety of plants that bloom at different times of the year can be especially helpful.

The Xerces Society’s Southern Plains Monarch Nectar Plant Guide offers recommendations for creating beneficial flowering habitats.

Beautiful Flowers Can Improve Your Home’s Curb Appeal

Here’s something I particularly like about our seed giveaway initiative. Planting flowers can accomplish two worthwhile goals at the same time.

First, flowers can provide additional food and habitat for monarch butterflies, honeybees, and other pollinators. Second, they can improve the appearance of our homes, neighborhoods, and communities.

As a Central Texas REALTOR® with more than 18 years of experience, I’ve seen firsthand how a home’s exterior appearance can influence a buyer’s first impression.

According to the National Association of REALTORS®, 97% of surveyed REALTORS® believe curb appeal is important in attracting buyers.

Attractive landscaping doesn’t necessarily have to be expensive. Well-maintained flowerbeds, colorful plants, fresh mulch, and thoughtful design can make a property feel more welcoming.

When monarchs are back during migration season, homeowners with suitable flowering plants may also enjoy watching butterflies visit their gardens.

I believe that’s a wonderful combination: beautiful landscaping that can also benefit wildlife.

Native Landscaping Makes Sense for Central Texas Homes

Of course, landscaping should also be practical for our climate.

Central Texas homeowners deal with summer heat, drought conditions, and varying soil types. Therefore, selecting suitable native and drought-tolerant plants can help create attractive landscapes without relying entirely on high-water plant varieties.

We’ve discussed these considerations in our article about xeriscaping in San Marcos, Texas, including water conservation, plant selection, and landscaping options for local homeowners.

Pollinator-friendly landscaping doesn’t mean allowing your yard to become overgrown. Instead, a thoughtfully designed garden can incorporate flowering plants, defined borders, appropriate spacing, and regular maintenance.

For homeowners preparing to sell, curb appeal still matters. Buyers should see an attractive, maintained property rather than landscaping that appears neglected.

However, there’s no reason a beautiful landscape cannot also provide nectar and habitat for beneficial insects.

I believe every time monarchs are back in Central Texas, we’re reminded that even residential flowerbeds can have a broader purpose.

How Homeowners Can Help Monarchs in Central Texas

You don’t need several acres or an expensive landscaping project to help monarch butterflies.

Whether you live in Blanco Vista, Plum Creek, La Cima, or another Central Texas neighborhood, even a small sunny flowerbed can provide resources for pollinators.

Choose Native Milkweed and Nectar Plants

Start by researching milkweed species native to your area. Antelope horns milkweed and green milkweed are among those found in parts of Central Texas.

However, not every milkweed species works in every yard. Soil conditions, drainage, sunlight, and available space should guide your choices.

Next, add suitable flowering plants that bloom during different seasons. Black-eyed Susans, certain coneflowers, mistflowers, frostweed, and native goldenrods can contribute nectar sources and seasonal color.

Make Your Garden Pollinator-Friendly

Avoid unnecessary insecticide applications around flowering plants because some products can harm butterflies, bees, and other beneficial insects.

If you live in an HOA-managed subdivision, review your community’s landscaping guidelines before making significant changes.

Additionally, consider involving your children or grandchildren in planting and observing butterflies. It’s an excellent opportunity to teach younger generations about nature.

When monarchs are back during spring and fall migration, your family might even spot visitors feeding on flowers you’ve planted together.

Giving Back Is Part of the Walker Texas Team Mission

Community involvement has always been important to me, both personally and professionally.

When I established Walker Texas Team, I wanted to build a real estate business known for its experience, professionalism, and commitment to the communities we serve.

Our Walker Texas Team mission statement includes a commitment to being experts in our communities and continuously giving back through donations, sponsorships, and volunteering.

Those words mean something to me.

Over the years, we’ve supported local schools, charitable organizations, community activities, and traditions such as Summer in the Park in San Marcos. We’ve sponsored the concert series since 2009, and our seed giveaway initiative is another example of that long-term involvement.

When monarchs are back in Central Texas, our conservation efforts remind me that supporting a community involves more than participating in its economy.

It also means caring about the environment, local traditions, and the people who call that community home.

When Choosing a Real Estate Agent, Look Beyond the Transaction

If you’re considering buying or selling a home, there are several important things to look for when choosing a real estate agent.

Experience, local market knowledge, communication, negotiation skills, and marketing ability should always be major considerations. After all, buying or selling real estate is one of the most significant financial decisions many people make.

However, I’d encourage you to consider something else.

What does that real estate agent or company do to give back to the community?

Do they support local organizations? Volunteer their time? Sponsor community events? Help schools or participate in activities that improve the places where their clients live?

I’m certainly not suggesting community involvement should outweigh professional qualifications. You need an agent who understands the market and can represent your interests effectively.

However, I believe an agent’s involvement in the community can tell you something about the people behind the business.

Our article about choosing the right real estate agent in San Marcos discusses the importance of experience, communication, marketing, and trust.

I’d add genuine community involvement to that conversation.

Your Real Estate Decisions Can Support Local Communities

When you choose Walker Texas Team to help buy or sell your property, you’re supporting a local real estate business that has consistently invested its own resources into Central Texas communities.

Our community sponsorships, charitable activities, and pollinator initiatives are supported by the success of our business.

That doesn’t mean a particular percentage of every commission goes directly to conservation. Rather, working with our team supports a business that has demonstrated a long-term commitment to giving back.

The phrase “monarchs are back” reminds me of just one of the ways we’ve tried to make a positive contribution over the years.

Whether we’re supporting Summer in the Park, assisting a local organization, or distributing wildflower seeds, the underlying philosophy is the same.

We want the communities where we live and work to be better places for everyone.

And I believe that commitment is something worth considering when choosing who represents you in a real estate transaction.

Growth and Conservation Can Work Together

As our communities continue growing, I hope more homeowners, businesses, developers, and community organizations will consider ways to incorporate pollinator-friendly landscaping into their properties.

Every new subdivision represents an opportunity to create a neighborhood where families can thrive. However, it can also provide opportunities for native plants, flowering gardens, and habitat restoration.

I don’t believe growth and conservation have to be competing interests.

In fact, some of the most attractive neighborhoods are those that successfully combine beautiful homes, appealing landscaping, and respect for the natural environment.

When monarchs are back each year, I’d love for more Central Texas residents to have the opportunity to watch them feeding in their own gardens.

Imagine the collective impact if homeowners throughout San Marcos, Kyle, Buda, New Braunfels, and surrounding communities planted even a few suitable native flowers.

We might not restore every acre of habitat lost over the years. Nevertheless, we can make a collective effort to give monarch butterflies and other pollinators a better chance.

Frequently Asked Questions About Monarch Butterflies in Central Texas

When are monarchs back in Central Texas?

Monarch butterflies generally migrate through Central Texas twice each year. Spring migration typically occurs during March and April, while fall migration generally runs from late September through October. Some butterflies may still be observed during November, depending on weather conditions and migration routes.

Why do monarch butterflies migrate through Texas?

Texas lies between the eastern monarch population’s northern breeding grounds and its overwintering habitat in Mexico. During migration, butterflies rely on flowering plants for nectar, while spring migrants also need milkweed for reproduction.

Are monarch butterfly populations still declining?

Monarch populations have experienced substantial long-term declines. Although the eastern overwintering population showed a 64% increase in occupied forest area during the 2025–2026 winter, habitat loss and other threats remain serious concerns.

Why is milkweed important to monarch butterflies?

Female monarchs lay their eggs on milkweed plants, and their caterpillars depend on milkweed leaves for food. Native milkweed is an essential component of suitable monarch breeding habitat.

What flowers attract monarchs and honeybees in Central Texas?

Native milkweed, Black-eyed Susans, coneflowers, mistflowers, frostweed, and certain goldenrods can benefit different pollinators. Selecting flowers that bloom at different times can help provide food throughout the growing season.

Can pollinator-friendly landscaping improve curb appeal?

Yes. Colorful, well-maintained flowerbeds can make residential landscaping more attractive while providing resources for butterflies and bees. However, landscaping changes do not guarantee a particular increase in property value.

What has Walker Texas Team done to help monarch butterflies?

Over approximately 10 years, Walker Texas Team has distributed more than 20,000 free packets of milkweed and Black-eyed Susan seeds through neighborhood mailings, community events, business expos, and Summer in the Park. The team also supported San Marcos’ 2018 Butterfly Festival and Monarch City initiative.

Monarchs Are Back! Let’s Keep Central Texas Blooming

After more than 20,000 seed packets and a decade of effort, I still believe in the simple idea that started this initiative.

If we can encourage homeowners to plant beautiful flowers that help monarch butterflies, honeybees, and other pollinators, why wouldn’t we?

We get to enjoy more attractive yards and neighborhoods while doing something positive for the environment.

Although I may never know how many flowers grew from the seeds we’ve given away, I hope our little project has made a difference somewhere.

When monarchs are back each spring and fall, I hope they’re finding a little more habitat because people throughout Central Texas chose to plant something beneficial.

At Walker Texas Team, helping families buy and sell homes is our profession. However, supporting the communities that make our business possible is also part of our mission.

Whether you’re buying your first home, selling a property, relocating to Central Texas, or simply looking for an experienced local real estate team, I hope you’ll consider both the services an agent offers and the difference that agent makes in the community.

At Walker Texas Team, we’re proud to serve San Marcos, Kyle, Buda, New Braunfels, Wimberley, Canyon Lake, and surrounding Central Texas communities.

We don’t just help people find a place to call home. We believe in doing our part to make that place better.

Sometimes, making a difference starts with something as simple as planting a few wildflower seeds.

Plant. Grow. Enjoy.

About the Author: James Walker is an Associated Broker and Team Lead with Walker Texas Team at Keller Williams Realty. A lifelong Central Texas resident with more than 18 years of real estate experience, James specializes in helping buyers and sellers throughout San Marcos, Kyle, New Braunfels, Buda, Wimberley, Canyon Lake, and surrounding communities. He has supported numerous local organizations, charitable initiatives, and community events throughout his real estate career.