New legislation has been introduced to make the monarch butterfly the state insect.
Michigan and Iowa are the only two states without an officially designated state insect.
Other states, including Alabama and Texas, already have the monarch as their state insect.
Democratic State Senator Rosemary Bayer introduced the legislation. She said monarchs play a pivotal role in pollination in Michigan.
“We should recognize it,” she said. “We can do something about improving the environment for Monarchs just by calling attention to this.”
Bayer said students at an elementary school in her district asked to make the monarch the State insect.
She said she understands that people might call the designation “frivolous”.
“We really depend on pollination here and we have a problem,” she said. “We’re losing our honey bees we’re losing all the insects that really do make our crops successful. Anything we can do to call attention to the need for habitat, that’s important to us.”
Bayer said the goal will be to get the legislation passed by the end of the year. A similar bill was introduced in the state house.
Earlier this year another bill in the state house would have made the dragonfly the state insect. It’s still sitting in committee