Meetings that have the ability to convene a wide array of experts can be extremely useful to propel ideas forward, especially when the problems faced are time sensitive, as is the case with the monarch butterfly. A series of national meetings about monarch conservation has been hosted since the beginning of the decline in the monarch population.

The most recent Monarch Biology and Conservation Meeting was hosted by “the University of Minnesota Monarch Lab’s Monarchs in the Classroom program […] held in June 2012 at the University’s Landscape Arboretum. Over 150 monarch conservationists, monarch scientists, citizen scientists, and land managers attended the meeting to share information and attend workshops on monarch biology, successful conservation efforts, monitoring, and population trends.

A keynote address was delivered by the eminent Dr. Lincoln Brower, who spoke on his ‘58 Year Journey with Monarchs,’ and his many insights regarding monarch biology and conservation that have developed along the way. Presentations and posters can be viewed at the meeting website: <www.monarchlab.org/mn2012>” (MJV 2013).

• Monarch Joint Venture (MJV). 2013. Monarch Biology and Conservation Meeting. http://monarchjointventure.org/our-work/monarch-biology-and-conservation-meeting.

Keywords: biology, model concept