Student vote chooses New York State official butterfly

NEW YORK STATE — Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther (D,C-Forestburgh) has announced that the Red Spotted Purple/White Admiral butterfly will be the official New York State Butterfly, thanks to 35,000 student voters who participated in the statewide contest to give New York its own butterfly.

“The statewide results mirrored the results from the 98th Assembly District,” Gunther said. “Our local third, fourth and fifth graders cast the most votes for the Red Spotted Purple/White Admiral, as did many other students across the state. This is a wonderful example of how the legislative process works.”

Legislation will now be introduced in both houses designating the Red Spotted Purple/White Admiral as the official New York State Butterfly. Once the legislation passes and is signed by the governor, the butterfly will join the list of official state flora and fauna including the rose as the state flower, the sugar maple as the state tree and the bluebird as the state bird.