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The “king” of butterflies, the monarch, has seen a decline in population in recent years and there are ways people can help fight the trend locally. Mary Bulger, naturalist in Lee County is holding a program in Washington Thursday evening about monarchs – they’re life cycle, what they eat, where they live and how the public can help create habitat. She said one big reason the population is declining is due to the lack of habitat for the migrating butterflies. She advises there are a few different ways people can help the orange and black butterflies, but the best way to help is to plant milkweed and nectar producing plants.

Bulger’s free event will be at the Washington County Extension Office Thursday at 6:30 p.m. She’ll also have monarch caterpillars and live milkweed plants to show attendees. For more information listen to Thursday’s Washington Page on KCII.