Phoenix Desert Botanical Polinators

COHN FAMILY BUTTERFLY PAVILION
Since 2002, the Butterfly Pavilion has centered the special relationship between insects and plants of the Sonoran Desert. The Garden’s Pollinator Conservation Research Program dives deeper into this relationship by working on several projects such as plant propagation, milkweed ecology and determining how climate change will affect the population of the monarch butterfly which is now listed as endangered.
In 2017, the Garden reopened this 3,200 square foot open-air structure, featuring lush garden plantings, a water feature, thousands of live butterflies, engaging programming and state-of-the-art nursery space.
Desert Botanical Garden is committed to continuing conversation on issues that threaten butterflies and other pollinators’ survival by determining ways the public can take action to assist in protecting these populations in their own backyard.
Learn how these fluttery creatures care for and protect the desert environment. Join us in helping conserve them for future generations.
Immerse yourself in more than 2,000 butterflies that are native to the Southwest
As of 2022, the migratory monarch has been listed as ‘Endangered’ by the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Learn more about the Garden’s conservation efforts for this beloved species, such as the Great Milkweed Grow Out.

Caterpillar on Milkweed
There are many ways to help native populations of pollinators, such as creating your own pesticide-free butterfly garden on your patio or backyard! Stock up on plants with nectar at our Fall and Spring Plant Sale

Nests
A saguaro boot is the hard shell of callus tissue, heavily impregnated with lignin, that a saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea) creates to protect the wound created by a bird's nesting house. The bird pecks through the cactus skin, then excavates downward to hollow out a space for its nest. When the saguaro dies, its soft flesh rots, but its woody infrastructure lasts much longer. So does the hollowed-out callus whose roughly boot-like shape gives it the name of "saguaro boot."

Native Americans of the Seri group used saguaro boots to store or carry water.Læs mere