Robyn Baty doesn’t think she’s odd for nurturing 200 caterpillars in her house. “For me it’s not crazy,” she said. “But for someone to walk into my house and see 200 caterpillars, they’ll say, ‘what’s wrong with you?’” Describing herself as a “naturalist” and a “tree-hugging, berry-eating” person, Baty spent the past two years helping monarch butterflies survive. Plagued by predatory bugs and weather changes, deforestation in their winter homeland of Mexico and the depletion of milkweed, their primary food source, monarch population has declined since the mid-1990s. Monarchs migrate from eastern North America to Mexico during the fall before returning in the spring and early summer months. The butterflies themselves aren’t endangered, said University of Kansas Professor Chip Taylor, but their migration is because of threats in both Mexico and the United States. Taylor, who heads Monarch Watch, University of Kansas-based organization promoting education and research of the orange and black butterflies, said the population has declined since 1995 due to a loss of habitat. Studies of the monarch habitat in Mexico showed the population at the butterfly’s wintering sites down from 20.97 hectares in 1996-1997 to 2.89 hectares in 2011-2012. A hectare is a metric unit equal to 10,000 square meters. The hectares are determined by measuring the distance covered by forests populated by the monarch, he said. The smaller the number, the more vulnerable the migration. “There are two essential things: The forest in Mexico and maintaining the milkweed that supports the reproduction of this insect,” said Taylor. “If we lose either one, this migration will collapse.” Baty’s residence at 401 Canisteo St. in Hornell was designated a waystation for monarchs in 2011 by Monarch Watch, meaning she grows milkweed and nectar-producing flowers that feed caterpillars and monarchs. She houses 30 to 50 milkweed plants in a pair of small greenhouses, with more flowers and milkweed in her yard. She travels to Rochester and Buffalo to buy the plants. Finding the caterpillars in her yard, Baty kept them in various containers in her house in previous years until they reached the chrysalis stage. This year, she has two wooden boxes enclosed with iron mesh netting for the caterpillars and the butterflies. Caring for the critters means cleaning the cages and daily feedings. Once the caterpillars chrysalize into butterflies, she moves them to the other container before releasing them. Baty is hoping monarch preservation will grow, both in Hornell and elsewhere. She said two local Girl Scout troops and a Boy Scout troop are hoping to find space in the city for other waystations, and added that a botanical garden and preserve for monarchs could be built at Shawmut. “It’s a nice project for people with kids or older people who are empty-nesters,” she said. “You can help an environmental species without writing a check and not seeing where your money goes.” Anyone interested in monarch butterflies can contact Baty at (607) 324-1593. Robyn Baty doesn’t think she’s odd for nurturing 200 caterpillars in her house. “For me it’s not crazy,” she said. “But for someone to walk into my house and see 200 caterpillars, they’ll say, ‘what’s wrong with you?’” Describing herself as a “naturalist” and a “tree-hugging, berry-eating” person, Baty spent the past two years helping monarch butterflies survive. Plagued by predatory bugs and weather changes, deforestation in their winter homeland of Mexico and the depletion of milkweed, their primary food source, monarch population has declined since the mid-1990s. Monarchs migrate from eastern North America to Mexico during the fall before returning in the spring and early summer months. The butterflies themselves aren’t endangered, said University of Kansas Professor Chip Taylor, but their migration is because of threats in both Mexico and the United States. Taylor, who heads Monarch Watch, University of Kansas-based organization promoting education and research of the orange and black butterflies, said the population has declined since 1995 due to a loss of habitat. Studies of the monarch habitat in Mexico showed the population at the butterfly’s wintering sites down from 20.97 hectares in 1996-1997 to 2.89 hectares in 2011-2012. A hectare is a metric unit equal to 10,000 square meters. The hectares are determined by measuring the distance covered by forests populated by the monarch, he said. The smaller the number, the more vulnerable the migration. “There are two essential things: The forest in Mexico and maintaining the milkweed that supports the reproduction of this insect,” said Taylor. “If we lose either one, this migration will collapse.” Baty’s residence at 401 Canisteo St. in Hornell was designated a waystation for monarchs in 2011 by Monarch Watch, meaning she grows milkweed and nectar-producing flowers that feed caterpillars and monarchs. She houses 30 to 50 milkweed plants in a pair of small greenhouses, with more flowers and milkweed in her yard. She travels to Rochester and Buffalo to buy the plants. Finding the caterpillars in her yard, Baty kept them in various containers in her house in previous years until they reached the chrysalis stage. This year, she has two wooden boxes enclosed with iron mesh netting for the caterpillars and the butterflies. Caring for the critters means cleaning the cages and daily feedings. Once the caterpillars chrysalize into butterflies, she moves them to the other container before releasing them. Baty is hoping monarch preservation will grow, both in Hornell and elsewhere. She said two local Girl Scout troops and a Boy Scout troop are hoping to find space in the city for other waystations, and added that a botanical garden and preserve for monarchs could be built at Shawmut. “It’s a nice project for people with kids or older people who are empty-nesters,” she said. “You can help an environmental species without writing a check and not seeing where your money goes.” Anyone interested in monarch butterflies can contact Baty at (607) 324-1593.