National Learn About Butterflies Day 2025
As spring arrives, March 14 marks a special day that encourages people to pause and learn about one of nature’s most intriguing creatures — the butterfly. National Learn About Butterflies Day provides a day to learn about the ecological importance of butterflies.
Let’s dive into a little bit more about butterflies, and how you can help this creature thrive in Oklahoma!
Butterflies have piqued human interest for centuries. Butterflies are a diverse species, with over 17,000 different species of butterflies worldwide. This means that butterflies can easily adapt to a wide range of habitats and climates!
The butterfly goes through one of the most remarkable life cycles. Butterflies metamorphize through four stages: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis), and adult. Metamorphosis involves impressive morphological changes, highlighting the animal’s incredible adaptability and efficiency.
Why are butterflies important to us?
Butterflies are important for many reasons, varying from their roles in ecosystems and science to the impact they have on culture.
Pollination:
Butterflies are wonderful and active pollinators in our environment. As they feed on the nectar from flowers, they carry pollen on their bodies, helping with the reproduction of many plant species. This process is crucial to helping a wide range of plant and animal species thrive.
Biodiversity indicators:
Seeing butterflies in an area often indicates the health of an ecosystem. Butterflies are great bioindicators due to their sensitivity to habitat loss, pollution, and climate change
Scientific and educational value:
Our understanding of things like evolution, genetics, and natural selection have all been improved by studying butterflies. Butterflies are also a popular tool used to further environmental education. Everyone can learn concepts about biology, transformation, and nature’s interconnectedness by learning about a butterfly’s lifecycle.
Cultural symbolism:
Butterflies are a common cultural symbol for many different groups of people from all over the world. Butterflies symbolize rebirth, transformation, resilience, endurance, and more. Butterflies are commonly seen in various productions of art and literature.
How can you help butterflies in Oklahoma?
Many people wonder how they can help support butterfly populations, specifically Monarch butterflies, in Oklahoma. Our friends over at Okies for Monarchs, say “The excellent news is that anyone, even the average ‘city-dweller’, has the profound ability to both attract and foster pollinator insects in their own backyard with relative ease.” When Monarchs migrate through Oklahoma in the spring and fall, they are in need of fuel along the way! “Establish some native blooming plants — they’re easy keepers and most are extremely low maintenance because they’re adapted to the local climate. No matter the size or the scope, the benefits will be realized quickly and you will have contributed to reversing the widespread decline of not only Monarchs but hundreds of other species within the diverse world of pollinator insect communities,” says Matt Fullerton of Okies for Monarchs.
The Wildlife Habitat Grant Program – is an initiative of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation District’s Yard by Yard program and Okies for Monarchs. This grant provides a voluntary, incentive-based payment to reimburse participants for native plant purchases used in creating new wildlife habitats benefitting insects and birds.