Monarch

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The Flight of The Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus)

Overview

We have decided to investigate the Monarch Butterfly's famous migration, which spans nearly the whole continent of North America.

Monarch mirgation is a phenomenon that is not completely understood by science but one that is continously fascinating because of many of its features. The wonder that these small insects invoke when they undertake the thousands of miles journey from the northern most parts of the United States to the South of Mexico. The puzzles that monarch migration presents are how they find their way on the migration to their overwintering grounds, especially when it usually takes about three to four generations to parttake in the whole migration cycle.

Understanding why and how these fragile animals make this long journey is an important task that we must undertake if we are to make serious efforts in their conservation.

Xerces Society map of monarch migration

Photo: Xerces Society

Monarch Migration

Photo: Sonia Altizer