Milk Thistle and Monarch Butterflies: How Ohio Can Help Save the Butterflies
The Ohio House voted unanimously to pass legislation that would make it legal to share milk thistle seeds for non-commercial purposes. These changes would help Monarch butterflies.
Ohio is home to many pollinators, including butterflies, moths, bees, wasps, beetles, and even common flies.
According to The Nature Conservatory, more than 130 species of butterflies and skippers flutter across the Buckeye State. However, habitat loss is making it difficult for some of these pollinators to reproduce and survive. Many butterflies rely on specific plants to lay their eggs, providing an abundant food source for the caterpillars and avoiding predators when they hatch.
For Ohioans, planting pollinator-friendly plants to attract butterflies has become a hobby. Here are a few of the unique butterflies you might find in your yard.
The frozen fairy butterfly could soon be threatened with extinction
The frosted elfin butterfly is an endangered single brood butterfly that can be found as soon as the weather warms up after the winter. According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, their wings are a dark gray-brown color on top and their hind wings have a dark spot and an irregular dark line.
The rare butterfly is found in grasslands and around host plants such as wild blue lupine and wild indigo. Their numbers continue to decline and they are predicted to be federally endangered.
Carner blue butterflies thrive in northwest Ohio
The Karner Blue Butterfly is a federally endangered butterfly and lays its larvae only on wild blue lupine, which is abundant in northwestern Ohio. Males are silvery or blue-dark with narrow black borders, while females are gray-brown and blue, with an orange crescent within the narrow black borders.
Oaks Openings in Toledo has the right soil for wild lupines, and these butterflies can be found there.
Monarch Butterfly
The monarch butterfly can be found in all 88 counties of Ohio. These butterflies have a long multi-generational migration, flying to and from Mexico. These butterflies are a deep orange color with black edges and veins, according to the National Wildlife Foundation.
Monarch butterflies lay their eggs only on silk plants in late spring.
Northern Pearl-Eyed Butterflies are extremely rare in Ohio
The Northern Pearl-eye is difficult to find; only 23 were counted in 2020. This butterfly has brown spots on the upper wing, with four black markings on each wing. The lower wings are brown.
Their larvae feed on grasses such as bottlebrush grass.
Southern Ohio is a hotspot for orange-tip butterflies
If you see an orange tip butterfly, it could be a sign that spring has arrived.
Males are white with orange tips on their upper wings, while females lack the orange colour. Both have a black spot on their upper wing.
These butterflies are found in southern and eastern Ohio and prefer wooded areas. They like mustard plants and can be found on the Joan Jones Portman Trail in Adams County in southern Ohio.
Leonard’s skipper
These butterflies can be intermediates between butterflies and moths. Their bodies are more like moths, but their wings are more like butterflies. A Leonard’s Skipper has red-orange wings with broad black edges, and its hindwings are red with a band of white, cream, or yellow spots.
The skipper can be found in perennial grasses and host plants such as small bluegrass, blue grama and bentgrass.
Honorable Mention: Cecropia Moth and its Caterpillar
Cecropia moth caterpillars grow to be as long as a hot dog. The caterpillars are vibrant and colorful, while as moths they have reddish bodies with black and brown wings surrounded by bands of white and brown.
As the largest moth in North America, adults have a wingspan of 5-7 inches, though they are short-lived. Adults lack mouths and can survive for only two weeks after emerging from their cocoons, according to the National Wildlife Federation.
These moths prefer open spaces in forests and can be found on oak, cherry, beech, apple and button bushes.
How Harmful Algal Blooms, or Colonies of Microscopic Algae, Form
Harmful algal blooms are colonies of microscopic algae that grow out of control. They can be harmful to humans, wildlife, and the environment.
Michael Nyerges, Cincinnati Enquirer
