Senate Bill 0217 – Sen. Kruse:
Provides that the monarch butterfly is the state insect.
I’m all for this because: 1) it’s very, very important that Indiana have a state insect, and 2) I’m a big fan of the Venture Brothers generally, and The Monarch specifically.
snore…
I’ve always wondered if being a villain’s henchman is a lucrative position. It surely has to pay more than being a mental health therapist!
Alabama, Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, Texas, and West Virginia all have the monarch butterly as either their state insect or state butterfly. Why does Kruse want us to be like other states?
Why a state insect you ask? Here is the history behind SB 217!
Monarch Butterfly for Indiana State Insect!
After researching we did detect
That Indiana has no state insect.
Without insects we’d have no pollination.
Imagine the effect on our great nation!
What does it matter? You might want to know.
Well, caterpillars, like children, quickly change and they grow.
Said our children in Waterloo
“We want the monarch, what can we do?â€
We raise them and feed them then wait to see –
Male or female, what will they be?
Then with hope and with faith, very carefully
We hold our monarchs before setting them free.
We track their path – to see where they will go.
And write letters to children in Mexico.
We act as ambassadors for our state,
To protect and preserve the monarch’s fate.
Monarchs – beautiful symbols of delicate grace,
Yet strong enough to endure the paths they must face.
In just one month we observe and see
As the egg transforms before you and me.
Caterpillar – chrysalis- and then butterfly.
A natural mystery rising to the sky.
Like the orange leaves that adorn Indiana trees in the fall,
Orange monarch wings give one more reason to all.
We see little white dots on their wings —
A symbol of the snow Indiana winter brings.
So, Senate and House members listen, we ask,
Please hear our voices and rise to the task.
Our youth are the ones we’ll someday elect-
Who now ask for the monarch as our state insect.
Listen to letters your children have sent.
Let’s all make a difference in state government!
– Lisa Conrad, Teacher
Dekalb Central United Schools
Indiana does not have a state insect. We are one of only 9 states without such a symbol.
The monarch can be found in Indiana from late May through September– in all life cycle stages. Gene Stratton-Porter, Indiana author and naturalist observed and adored butterflies and wrote “…a monarch was enthroned on every sunbeam.†The monarch would be an excellent representative, as its beauty leaves its mark on you forever. This fragile, yet magnificent insect migrates from our state each autumn and travels as many as 2000 miles south to rest in Central Mexico for the winter. In about February of each year, the monarchs begin mating and flying north, returning to Indiana as early as Mother’s Day.
Students in Waterloo Elementary School in Waterloo, as well as students across the state study monarch butterflies. Many collect eggs laid on milkweed in their schoolyards and fields then bring them into the classroom to raise and release. Some classes participate in the “Journey North symbolic paper migration†and tag butterflies or follow the migration path. Our students hope you will join in their efforts to support the monarch butterfly as our state insect.
Senator Dennis Kruse has written SB 217 that would attempt to name the monarch butterfly as our state insect. We have had student, teacher, and community involvement! In 2004, we had collected over 1400 signatures from all over the state, supporting the Monarch butterfly for Indiana State Insect! There is no better way to teach students about government and how bills are passed than to allow them become active participants!
Please note summary of citizens from cities and towns in support of this project:
MONARCH FOR STATE INSECT PETITONS – 3rd set of petitions:
School County or Town Number of Signatures
Country Meadow Elementary DeKalb County 20
DeKalb Middle School DeKalb County 103
DeKalb High School – Band Dept. DeKalb County 100
Calvary Kids – Pre K-8 Homeschool – Howe,IN 20
Blackhawk Christian School Fort Wayne 62
Greenfield Middle School Greenfield 77
University of St. Francis – El Educ Fort Wayne 15
Subtotal 397
Local Businesses, Clubs, Groups
Eaton Clutch
Curves
Heimach Senior Center
DeKalb Central Office
DeKalb Central Bus Drivers
Dekalb Farm Bureau
Farm Bureau Members – State Convention
Dekalb 4-H Members
Jansen Chiropractic
Methodist Church Ladies Group
Officers of Home Extension of DeKalb County
Chatter Bell Home Extension Club – Auburn
Town & Country Home Extension Club- Auburn
Other Home Extension Clubs of DeKalb County
DeKalb County Health Department
Signatures from individuals, clubs, and non-school
Subtotals 641
Third Round Petitions TOTAL 1038
Second Round Delivered to State House in Sept. 2004 by Grade 5 397
First Round Delivered to Senator Kruse at Waterloo Elem approx 100-175
Signatures Collected from Citizens
of These Indiana Towns & Cities:
Auburn, Ashley,Butler,Corunna, Garrett
Hudson, Spencerville, St. Joe, Waterloo
Albion, Anderson, Avilla, Avon,Bluffton
Churubusco, Columbia City, Covington, Decatur
Elkhart, Fremont, Fort Wayne, Greenfield, Greenwood, Goshen, Gosport, Grabill, Hamilton,
Harlan, Hartford City, Howe, Huntertown, Indianapolis, Kendallville, Laotto, Larwill
Leo, Ligonier, Lowell, Middlebury, Muncie,
New Haven,Ossian, Pleasant Lake, Richmond
South Bend, Syracuse, Wolcottville, Woodburn
Lisa Conrad,
As a citizenship exercise it seems all right, but not nearly as good as teaching kids how to write dossiers on legislators’ campaign financiers, or organize a protest on the steps of the State House. ;-)