U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)

Do you love monarch butterflies? PROVE IT! Participate in the upcoming International Monarch Monitoring Blitz (July 25-August 3), an effort helping track monarchs and milkweed across North America! You’ll help with data collection to better inform conservation efforts in the West by reporting western monarch sightings and habitats! If you're based in the West: 🦋Head over to monarchmilkweedmapper.org and create an account 🦋Take a photo of monarchs and/or milkweed 🦋Upload your photos to the milkweed mapper and share where you found them 🦋That’s it, you’ve proven you love monarchs! Repeat steps 2 and 3 as often as you can, even beyond the Blitz! Thank you for taking the time to go out into nature to help map and better understand monarch butterflies and their host plants across the Western U.S. Photo of the five monarch butterfly caterpillar instars, or stages, and a monarch butterfly by Brett Billings/USFWS

IT'S HAPPENING! There's nothing quite like seeing your native plants thriving and supporting local pollinators. The closer you look, the more you find. We initially found 6 monarch caterpillars on this milkweed plant, but looking at the photo we see 7! 📷 Courtney Celley/USFWS

Word of the day: Plumicorn. Great horned owls don't have horns, despite their common name. Their ear feather tufts, or plumicorns, resemble 'horns' and are used in territorial displays; they may also play a role in the owl's hearing. This owl was spotted at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge in California. Photo by Amanda Geahry/USFWS

Nice camo. 😎 During a survey in early July, our biologists spotted this endangered arroyo toad looking strikingly similar to the rock it sat upon. Juvenile arroyo toads are typically gray or light brown and have warty skin with yellow tips. Their range extends along California's central and southern coast into northwestern Baja California, Mexico. Photo of an arroyo toadlet by Andrew Dennhardt/USFWS

Fish of the Week podcast fans: we had a request to feature spot shrimp! And what better fish than Yelloweye Rockfish to help us illustrate the life of this fascinating crustacean while keeping to our weekly fish theme! Our latest episode explores the close relationship between these two species in Prince William Sound, Alaska. You'll gain insight into their diet and reproduction, fishing tips and how-tos, and best practices to help both species continue to provide enjoyment and sustenance for years to come. Our guests are Brittany Blain-Roth and Donnie Arthur from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. 🐟🦐 Catch new episodes every Monday on our website or wherever you get your podcasts. 🎣(if you like this crossover episode, you might also enjoy our Capelin / Seabird feature S4:E11) #AllTheFish Spot shrimp from Prince William Sound, Alaska. 📷 Katrina Liebich Yelloweye Rockfish, Valdez, Alaska. 📷 Joshua Duong

Born. Eat milkweed. Eat more milkweed. Transform into winged royalty. That’s the monarch timeline, and it starts fast. Their eggs hatch in just a few days. Act I: Devour the very leaf they were laid on. Act II: Molt five times and grow like it’s their job (because it is). Act III: Form a chrysalis and hatch about 8 days later as a fully-formed monarch butterfly. Monarchs can’t survive without milkweed. If you plant it, they will come. And they will snack. Video from Coleman National Fish Hatchery. Video description: A 30 minute time-lapse of a monarch caterpillar forming its chrysalis

Hunters and pollinators are a wild partnership. Pollinators like bees, butterflies, birds and bats are quietly powering the ecosystems that support deer, turkey, quail, and other prized game species. These unsung heroes help plants produce the seeds, berries, and nuts that feed wildlife and create the habitat that hunters depend on. From antler growth to turkey poult survival, strong habitat built by pollinator-supported plants means better hunting conditions across the board. One acre of wildflowers and native grasses can provide thousands of pounds of forage for deer and support hundreds of species of pollinators at the same time. Hunters have always been among the most dedicated conservationists. From funding habitat programs through license sales to restoring wetlands and woodlands, hunters understand the long game. More: https://ow.ly/LRZo50WpurH Photo of hunters at Lake Andes National Wildlife Refuge in South Dakota by Liz Julian/USFWS

Sound on!!! Recently at the San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge in California, a California ground squirrel was observed tossing wood chips, jumping around and flicking its tail at a southern Pacific rattlesnake, likely in response to the snake having just eaten another squirrel. The dramatic encounter lasted at least eight minutes. But why bother if the snake already ate? Because ground squirrels don’t just protect themselves, they defend their burrows, warn nearby squirrels and sometimes even protect their young or close relatives. These clever critters have evolved unique anti-snake tactics. They kick sand, heat up their tails to confuse the snake’s heat sensors and throw debris to drive predators away. The rattlesnake rattled and struck in response, but didn’t chase, likely too full to fight. Video of a California ground squirrel interacting with a southern Pacific rattlesnake who had recently eaten. The snake rattles its rattle to warn the squirrel. Credit: Sally Brown/USFWS

Come at me, bro. These young albatross chicks aren’t acting tough, rather they’re learning to stretch their wings as they gain strength and independence on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. As their wing feathers are growing, young Laysan albatross, or mōlī, turn and face the winds on Midway Atoll to create their own type of flight simulator. Each year millions of albatross return to Midway Atoll, called Kuaihelani in Hawaiian, to nest and raise their young. The annual survey from earlier this year counted 620,000 mōlī nests and just over 25,000 black-footed albatross, or ka’upu, nests. By August, all of the albatross will have fledged and departed for sea. USFWS volunteer video: Dan Rapp Video description: Three close-up scenes show gray seabird chicks with downy feathers standing from ground nest and stretching their wings, with other seabirds seen in the background. 

Big bust in the Amazon. Big win for wildlife. Thanks to a powerful partnership between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Peruvian law enforcement, a major international wildlife trafficking ring has been taken down. Operating out of the city of Iquitos, the organization was illegally capturing and exporting live wildlife around the globe. Animals like sloths, capybaras, birds, anteaters, reptiles, even an ocelot, were trafficked through a legal wildlife trade loophole. A joint investigation, code-named Predators of the East, led to the arrest of 12 traffickers and five corrupt government officials, and the rescue of over 250 live animals and thousands of invertebrates. Check out the comments to learn more about this story. Photo of a sick howler monkey by the Peruvian National Police