AN AMBER ARRAY OF MONARCH BUTTERFLIES
Prized by Victorian collectors and displayed in glass cabinets, butterflies are almost too attractive to be called insects. Decorated with abstract patterns in brilliant shades, their gossamer wings are works of art. Numerous writers and poets, meanwhile, have used the brevity of butterflies’ lifespans as an allegory for how ephemeral beauty can be.
If watching an individual flit past is aesthetically pleasing, getting caught in the midst of a butterfly storm is a trippy, kaleidoscopic dream. Every year, 20 million monarch butterflies embark on an epic migration from Canada and the United States, travelling 3,000 miles to the oyamel fir tree forests of the state of Michoacan in Mexico. Arriving in early November when Day of the Dead celebrations take place, they were once considered to be the souls of spirits taking flight, and even today their epic journey is cloaked in mystery.
Although monarchs typically live for only a few weeks, a super generation with a nine-month lifespan can make the trip south to breed, passing on genetic data to their progeny, which allows future generations to navigate a similar path. Two reserves, El Rosario and Sierra Chincua, are open to visitors who want to witness the phenomenon. Arrive early to find butterflies clinging to tree trunks or come later in the season to watch them flutter like amber confetti, illuminating the forest canopy.
Wildlife Worldwide (01962 302086; wildlifeworldwide.com) can tailor-make a 10-day Monarch Butterfly Migration and Humpback Whales tour from £5,695 per person, including international flights.