When people think about fall migrations, birds are usually the first thing to spring to mind. But did you know that there’s also a migration of the monarch butterfly as well? Throughout the bulk of their lives, a Monarch will generally not fly more than a total of 100 feet, simply flitting from flower to flower. They dine on milkweed plants and don’t have to go far from their hatching grounds in order to find food. Then, each fall, thousands of these distinctly bright colored insects will make their way from east of the Rocky Mountains to as far west as Mexico.
Check out this documentary clip exploring the unusual migration of the Monarch, and it’s remarkable 2,000 – 3,000 mile journey.
As you can see, the migration of the monarch butterfly is a truly unique experience! The monarch butterfly takes queues from nature like: milkweed growth, temperature changes, and the length of daylight, to plan its migration. When the monarch is ready, it begins the journey West or South, to reconvene with other monarch butterflies.
Related articles: 5 Exotic Butterfly Species from Around the World also Spotting the Difference Between Monarch Butterflies and Lookalikes
Featured Image from Robin Mathlener/Unsplash
