LANSING, Mich. — An effort is taking wing in Lansing to designate the monarch butterfly as Michigan's official state insect.
Legislation giving the monarch butterfly official status in Michigan is as predictable as the insect’s annual winter migration to central Mexico.
Similar bills have been introduced every legislative session going back to 2010, to no avail.
“By recognizing these beautiful little creatures, we can be more conscious of their function and contribution to our state,’’ state Rep. Brenda Carter, D-Pontiac, said two years ago when she first introduced the bill.
Her latest effort, House Bill 4808, was introduced earlier this week and has 31 co-sponsors.
Michigan is one of two states without an official state insect. The other is Iowa.
It certainly isn’t for a lack of trying. Michigan lawmakers in previous years have rallied behind ladybugs and assorted butterflies. Two years ago, the green darner dragonfly made inroads.
Michigan already has designated the apple blossom as the state flower, the white pine as the state tree and the Petoskey stone as the state stone.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources says millions of monarch butterflies spend their summers in Michigan and migrate across the U.S. to spend their winters in Mexico.
The often lay their eggs on milkweed plants, which are common in southern Michigan, according to Michigan State University.
The monarch butterfly is the official insect in seven states, including Illinois and Minnesota.
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