VWES third-graders write butterfly story

Editor’s note: Third-grade students at Van Wert Elementary School got so involved in the plight of the monarch butterfly during a study of butterflies, that they decided to write a story asking people to save the butterflies’ habitat. Here is their story:

“Hello, we are student scientists in third grade from Van Wert Elementary School. We have been studying the monarch butterfly. We found out that their population has been declining, so we are trying to help them out.

First off, we want to say thank you to everyone who does not cut down milkweed, because if you cut down milkweed you are harming the monarch butterfly population. I know you are wondering, “Why do butterflies matter?” They matter because when they drink from flowers, pollen gets on their bodies. They are pollinators. If we didn’t have butterflies and bees, we couldn’t grow food like corn and wheat, or other plants and flowers.

The monarch caterpillar eats only one thing: milkweed leaves. The leaves contain a poison that does not harm the caterpillar, but becomes part of its body. They lay their eggs on milkweed, and go through prolonged stages of metamorphosis. Monarchs can travel 2,000 miles to get to Mexico each fall. Their population is threatened for several reasons, but there are ways we can get involved and help them out.

We can help them by not mowing down milkweed, and not spraying pesticides. You can also set up a butterfly flower garden and watering station.

Another way you can help is to help scientists study them by tagging their wing with a sticker. These can be ordered at www.monarchwatch.org.

Please consider helping us help the monarch butterfly!”