COLUMBUS, Ohio - Eastern monarch butterflies are currently flying through Ohio on their way from summer breeding areas to overwintering sites in Mexico.

Monarch butterflies may travel between 50 and 100 miles per day with their journey taking them thousands of miles before they reach their destination.

Throughout their journey, monarchs rely on native flowers for adequate food sources to fuel them to reach these overwintering areas.

You can look for monarch butterflies in forests, fields, gardens and waterways as they pass through Ohio in the coming weeks. They may travel individually or in groups.

Monarch butterflies are in decline across the range along with many other pollinating insects due to the loss of prairie and grassland habitat. One of the most important ways to help declining butterflies and other pollinating insects is to conserve tracts of unmown grasslands.

You can also play a role in supporting monarchs by planting milkweed, which is the sole host plant for monarchs and is beneficial at every stage of the insect's life cycle.