HARRISBURG, Pa (WTAJ) — A new license plate is being offered to Pennsylvania residents to help grow and sustain plants, bees, and other insects in the state.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced that recently passed legislation allows vehicle owners to purchase “pollinator” licensee plates with 65% of the proceeds going into the Pollinator Habitat Program Fund.

The fund is dedicated to supporting ongoing efforts to reinvigorate the population of insects that pollinate plant life.

This fund will create naturalized gardens and meadows planted with pollinator-friendly species of flowering plants specifically for bees, butterflies, beetles, and other insects which may have been adversely affected by the loss of their native habitat. With more flowering plants to provide sustenance, these insects will be given a chance to thrive in these reclaimed areas.

The Pollinator license plate is now available for passenger cars or trucks with a registered gross weight of not more than 14,000 pounds. The license plate contains the standard Pennsylvania license plate colors of blue, white, and gold and depicts an image of a monarch butterfly, honeybee, and green sweat bee visiting a flower.

A further aim of the program is to help reverse the decline of federally listed threatened or endangered species, such as the monarch butterfly.

Applicants for the Pollinator license plate must submit a completed Form MV-911, “Application for Special Fund Registration Plate.”

“The importance of supporting a healthy pollinator population in Pennsylvania – a state that depends on agriculture as part of its economy – cannot be overstated,” PennDOT Acting Secretary Mike Carroll said. “Developing habitats for this important group of insects contributes to both the environmental and economic health of our Commonwealth, and PennDOT is proud to offer a license plate to help support these important efforts.”

More information on PennDOT’s efforts to help revive pollinators is available in PennDOT Pollinator Habitat Plan.

“Pollinators are critical to the environment and to feeding Pennsylvanians,” Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said. “One out of every three bites we eat is made possible because of pollinators and their role in promoting biodiversity and plant health in our food system, and this pollinator license plate is a way for us to help grow and sustain plant and pollinator life.”