Asheville Butterfly Trail

I'm Phyllis Stiles, the founder of Bee City USA . After learning how imperiled the bees and other pollinators were and how important they are to life as we know it, I had to do something to help them (and ourselves!). So I started the Bee City USA pollinator conservation program in 2012 in Asheville, NC. It's really taken off. So much so, that the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation agreed to take it over in 2018. Now there are 375 Bee Cities and Bee Campuses in 46 states! They're all galvanizing their communities to sustain pollinators, in particular the more than 3,600 species of native bees in this country, by increasing the abundance of native plants, providing nest sites, and reducing the use of pesticides.

Now, our Bee City USA Leadership Committee in Asheville wants to create the Asheville Butterfly Trail to feature at least 12 gorgeous, local butterflies, that will help people understand the larger story of what pollinators do and how. They will be strategically placed throughout Asheville and Buncombe County near the host plants that support the butterflies featured.

Just like the photo I took with a human-sized monarch at the monarch sanctuary in Mexico, our Trail stops will have large butterfly wings for fun photo opps . Each stop will have an informational sign to bring that particular butterfly into better focus--What are their caterpillar host plants? Do they migrate? What do they pollinate? How do they overwinter? What do their caterpillar and chrysalis look like?

But we need your help to get started. Once everyone sees the first butterfly, our Leadership Committee is sure people and companies will be moved to donate support for the other Trail stops (and associated website and Trail guides).

Can you donate today to help us reach a $5,000 goal to install the Eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly stop during Pollination Celebration! month in June 2024?

We can't wait to see school groups and families visiting the butterflies and checking off each stop on their Asheville Butterfly Trail map. Thank you for creating even more buzz for pollinators!