We have seen them fluttering around all of our lives but this colorful butterfly could be facing extinction.
The monarch is native to Ohio and many other states as it makes annual migrations to Mexico but conservationists warn that habitat destruction and climate change are threatening the iconic black and orange monarch butterfly. Local naturalists say that we can help by planting more of the plant that will feed their offspring.
"So the monarch butterfly itself can nectar on a lot of different plants but the only way you get more monarchs is if the babies have something to eat and the monarch caterpillar only eats milkweed. You can plant milkweed in your yard," said Dan Hodges, naturalist at Johnny Appleseed Metropolitan Park District.
Monarchs are pollinators that we depend on for most of the flowering plants that we see.
