“Monarch Magic,” Butterfly Pavilion’s monthlong celebration of the iconic butterfly, showcases the little pollinators and all they do for humanity, from their cultural impact to ecological significance.

The exhibit takes flight on Nov. 8 and will have special programming throughout the month at Butterfly Pavilion, 6252 W 104th Ave., Westminster.

Monarch butterflies are known for their seasonal migration as they fly up to 3,000 miles across the continent in a flight that ends in central Mexico where they settle in the high-altitude oyamel forests to survive in the dry winter.

The butterflies’ southern arrival coincides with the annual Mexican celebration of Dia de los Muertos, as the winged insects arrive in the warmer climate each November. They remain there until the spring.

Dia de los Muertos celebrates the souls who’ve gone before us and invites the departed back for a brief visit to the living world. Monarchs play an important role in the tradition as they symbolize being bearers of the souls, carrying them through.

“The butterflies signify carrying the souls of our ancestors when they come to visit,” Asia Fajardo-Diamond said. Fajardo-Diamond is the event coordinator at the Chicano Humanities and Arts Council, which is partnering with the Butterfly Pavilion for the festivities.

Butterfly Pavilion and the Denver-based Chicano Humanities and Arts Council will spend the month of November highlighting the ecological and cultural significance of the monarchs, including a community ofrenda (altar) that visitors can contribute to.

“When your ancestors come to visit you, the ofrenda is a space to put little trinkets and things that they like so they can remember all the beautiful things about their life,” Fajardo-Diamond said. “It’s a way for different generations to connect with those who have passed on and a way to say thank you for all the things the ancestors have passed on to us.”In addition to the cultural importance of monarch butterflies, “Monarch Magic” will also highlight the ecological impacts of the butterflies.

“As we take care of nature and we take care of these butterflies, it’s a way to put down roots for incoming generations, and take care of the earth for them,” Fajardo-Diamond said.

Monarch butterflies serve a few important functions in the ecosystem, local lepidopterists said, one of which is as pollinators. The butterflies carry pollen from one plant to the next, allowing the plants to reproduce. Without monarchs and pollinators like them, plant life would dwindle and eventually die.

“Pollinators have a significant impact not just on natural open spaces, but in our daily lives,” said Shiran Hershcovich, Butterfly Pavilion’s senior lepidopterist manager (a lepidopterist studies butterflies).

Hershcovich said that without pollination from monarchs and other invertebrates, plants could not produce the fruit that we eat. “Additionally, butterflies are very sensitive to changes in their environments,” Hershcovich said. “So when an ecosystem is degraded or lost, butterflies are going to be one of the first animals that respond to those changes, meaning they can be indicators of ecosystem health.”

That role as an ecosystem health indicator makes monarchs all the more important to study and understand, as they can be used as early warning systems that an ecosystem is becoming fragile or dying.

As the monarchs help us keep track of ecosystem health they, too, are struggling. “It’s a difficult time to be a monarch, there’s so many pressures from habitat loss and degradation and the dangers on their long migratory journey,” she said. “In the last couple decades, the migratory monarch has declined almost 80% in their numbers.”

“Monarch Magic” will aim to educate Pavilion patrons and beyond about the importance of monarchs, as well as put their cultural significance into context.

“Right now it’s really urgent to start dedicating understanding and research to the monarch butterfly,” Hershcovich said. “Not just as an animal in our ecosystem, but as an animal that has inspired us — it’s really important to focus on conservation.”

The event will have a kick-off celebration at 10 a.m. Nov. 8 in Butterfly Pavilion’s Wings of the Tropics exhibit. The event will include releasing monarch butterflies into the exhibit.

“Monarch Magic” spans the month of November, and the community ofrenda and more information about monarchs and educational programming is available all month long. For more information, visit butterflies.org.