Graffiti for Butterflies

Directing monarch butterflies to urban food sources along migratory routes in North America

Monarch butterflies regularly pass through dense patches of human settlement while migrating between wintering sites in Mexico and summering grounds in the United States and Canada.

Graffiti for Butterflies uses images of milkweed flowers to broadcast the location of food sources to these migrating monarchs. In the prototype at left, the graffiti is placed on a wall above an actual milkweed plant in New York City, signaling the presence of nectar to hungry monarchs in the vicinity. It’s the equivalent of a fast-food sign on a highway, advertising rest stops (waystations) to monarchs traveling through the area.

Milkweed flowers have natural ultraviolet (UV) patterns that are recognizable to monarch butterflies. These patterns are invisible to us because we can’t see light in the ultraviolet spectrum. GFB uses sunblock to paint the graffiti in a way that mimics these natural ultraviolet properties. (Sunblock is perfect for this, because it’s designed to reflect ultraviolet light away from our UV-sensitive bodies— it’s essentially a cheap and easy UV spray paint.)