A Monarch’s Journey
Are you noticing a lot of monarch butterflies outside? Every fall, hundreds of millions of monarch butterflies fly thousands of miles to their winter homes in California and Mexico. No other butterfly migrates this way, flying back and forth like birds do.
It is a mystery how the butterflies know where to go each year. Other butterflies don’t teach the monarchs where to fly. It’s every monarch for itself.
Flying to warmth
Like their tropical ancestors, modern monarchs cannot survive the cold. Each fall, North American monarchs must fly to warmer climates.
Most monarchs spend the winter in one special area in the Mexican mountains, the oyamel (oh-yah
MEL) fir forests.
The branches provide a protective covering that helps keep the monarchs from getting too hot or cold.
The shape of the branches and needles allows thousands of butterflies to cluster together for protection.
Monarchs in the far north begin migrating in early August. The closer to Mexico they
Mini Fact: Monarchs feed on the nectar, or sweet liquid, of flowers. are, the later they take off. Monarchs begin arriving in their winter refuges in late October.
What is migration?
When animals migrate (My-grate), they move from one area to another during certain times of the year. Then they move back to their original homes when the seasons change again. This travel can help them find food or escape extreme temperatures.
Super flier
Many tropical butterflies can fly long distances. But none of them can fly as far as the monarch. It can fly as far as 2,000 miles on its journey to Mexico.
The monarch also flies higher than any other large insect on the planet. It can fly up to 10,000 feet above the Earth’s surface.
Monarchs ride up into the atmosphere on thermals. A thermal is a current of hot air rising above the Earth.
Monarchs soar up in the thermals the same way birds such as hawks do. The monarchs then glide out on the wind toward their destination.
Gliding allows monarchs to fly for two to three months. They need to flap their wings only about every 20 to 30 feet, saving wear on their wings.