WILLOUGHBY HILLS, Ohio — As the center manager at the North Chagrin Nature Center, Bethany Majeski said she spends her days caring for the animals and insects that call her facility home.

“I just grabbed a common milkweed leaf here to feed our very hungry caterpillar,” Majeski said, as she walked inside.

Majeski explained the caterpillar needs a fresh leaf to eat every day.

“Everybody likes fresh food. So we definitely want to make sure that when they are with us, we give them what they need to be healthy and happy,” Majeski said, as she introduced the insect to the plant.

Once it matures, it will eventually evolve into a monarch butterfly. The species was recently designated as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

What You Need To Know

  • Monarch butterflies are known for their large, orange wings

  • The species is designated as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature

  • Bethany Majeski said Ohioans can help save them by planting native plants

“If they don't have the right habitat needs, if they can't find the milkweed that they need to grow caterpillars and survive because they can only eat that one type of plant. They're just not going to make it,” Majeski said.

Majeski added this type of butterfly is sensitive to any changes in its habitat. The species takes part in a large migration. 

“So every spring, monarchs begin traveling north from Mexico. They overwinter in the mountainous forests of Mexico and have to start flying up across the continental United States,” Majeski said.

At the end of the summer, she said the butterflies travel south, back to Mexico.

“They're going to be traveling from Canada, across Lake Erie, back down to Ohio, back all the way down to Mexico,” Majeski said. “Because they have to travel such a large [span] of territory, they're really vulnerable.”

Majeski said she considers Cleveland an important stop on their journey.

“They're tired. They want to rest, and especially if there are things like heavy winds or maybe a looming storm, they all hunker down into the trees that line the shorefront of the lakefront properties, and they will just cluster there in the hundreds, if not thousands,” Majeski said.

Majeski said it’s a magical sight to see and added there are ways Ohioans can help protect them while they’re here.

“Plant native plants,” Majeski emphasized. “Specifically for monarchs, you want to plant milkweed. It's the only thing that the caterpillars can eat. So without it, we simply will not see them here anymore.”

She encouraged people to avoid keeping the butterflies in captivity.

“There's all kinds of unintended consequences. It's actually important for monarchs to face natural predators in the environment. When we raise them inside, we might actually weaken the gene pool by raising some caterpillars who would otherwise get eaten by predators,” Majeski said.