GO ON MIGRATION WITH THE MONARCH BUTTERFLY

The Amazing Migration of the Monarch Butterfly

Updated July 2022

I have read a lot about the migrations of various animals worldwide. For example, a bird, the Arctic Tern, migrates from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back every year. Gray whales migrate from Alaska to Mexico. Thousands of songbirds migrate from the northern forests of the world to warmer climes in the south each winter. Vast herds of Caribou travel across the Arctic in North America, and Wildebeests do the same in Africa. But the most incredible migration of all is that of an insect – the Monarch Butterfly.

Monarch Butterflies are found in many locations around the world, but most of them live in northeast North America. Mainly in the Canadian province of Ontario but also in the surrounding provinces and American states. Each fall, in mid-September (the time depends on weather conditions and could be later or earlier), the butterflies begin to travel south. First, they congregate at Point Pelee National Park, at the southern tip of Ontario. Here they wait for favourable weather conditions to cross Lake Erie. Point Pelee is an excellent place to see them, and the park usually puts on a Monarch Butterfly display while they are there. Then, when conditions are right, the butterflies cross the lake and head out on a 3,800-kilometre journey to the mountains of central Mexico.

Most species of butterflies do not migrate. Instead, they find a crack in a tree or some other place to lay eggs, and they die. They do not exist in the winter except in egg form. The eggs hatch in the Spring, and the next generation begins. Why the Monarch Butterfly decided to migrate instead is a mystery.

I have often been to Point Pelee as I grew up near there. The Monarch Butterfly is one of my favourite insects. I have never seen them in Alberta, where I live now, and I miss them. One year, I decided to migrate with them to Mexico.

The El Rosario Butterfly Sanctuary

There are several locations in the mountains in the Mexican state of Michoacan where the butterflies congregate. The one that I went to is called the El Rosario Butterfly Sanctuary near the town of Anganguero. It is a remote area and getting there involves taking two busses from Mexico city. There is no transport from Anganguero to the butterfly sanctuary, so the only method of getting there is by taxi unless you have your own vehicle. You will pass through some attractive little mountain villages on the way.

When the butterflies arrive in the mountains, they pick a tree and land and sit there, passing away the winter months.   It is cold there, at high elevation, and the butterflies enter a dormant state. It is a fantastic sight. Do you know how much a Monarch weighs? About half a gram! Now imagine the branches of the trees sagging with the weight of the butterflies. They also land on the trunks, and some trees have so many butterflies that you cannot see the tree!

Anganguero – A Mountain village in Michoacán

 

Branches sagging under the weight of thousands of butterflies

So many butterflies you can’t see the tree.

The butterflies sit like that until February. Then, in mid to late February (depending on the temperature), they begin to fly around like a person stretching their muscles after sleeping late on a Sunday morning. I was there in early February, and some butterflies were flying, but the vast majority were still sitting in the trees. If I go again, I will go later in February when they are all moving around. You can stand there with swarms flying around you. Still, it was a fantastic time! I went back again the next day for another visit. One day was not enough for me to view this marvel!

The upper side of the Monarch Butterfly is a beautiful orange and black. The underside is dull orange and grey. Looking at them from a distance, when they all have their wings closed, they appear to be a grey mass, especially if it is not a sunny day.

The Migration North

In March, the butterflies mate and then begin their journey north. Now comes the most incredible part of the story. The butterflies that spend the winter in Mexico never make it back to Canada. They get about as far as Texas, where they lay their eggs and die. The eggs hatch and go through the typical butterfly stages of egg, caterpillar, larvae and adult.   Upon reaching the adult stage, the butterflies carry on the journey where their parents left off. How do they know where they are and where to go? They travel north, and by Spring, they will reach the northern USA, where they will again lay eggs and die. A third-generation will carry on the trip. Amazing!

A multi-generational trip

When they finally reach Ontario, they will spend the summer there, with one generation per month living, laying eggs, and dying. Then in late August or early September, a generation of butterflies will hatch that will live for eight months because they need to migrate to Mexico and spend the winter there. Imagine if your children live to be about 75 years old and their children live to be about 75, but every sixth or seventh generation, a child was born that would live to be 600 years old. Then their children would go back to a normal lifespan of 75 years.

The Monarch Butterfly migration is a multi-generational trip with each generation knowing where its parents left off and what they need to do to carry on.   A few generations have a peaceful summer in Ontario or New York state; then, a generation is born that lives eight times longer than its parents and knows where in Mexico to go. It was a place where its parents and their parents had never been. It is indeed the most amazing of the many animal migrations in the world. I was thrilled to go there and see them in their winter home. I hope one day to go again.

Birds Too!

The Rosario Butterfly sanctuary is also a great place to look for birds. I saw the Yellow-eyed Junco and the Red Warbler there. Point Pelee National Park is probably the best place in North America to see warblers. They congregate there during the spring migration in May.

If you want to have a marvellous experience, go on migration with the Monarch Butterfly. You would start at Point Pelee National Park in Ontario about mid-September. Then make your way to Anganguero in the Mexican state of Michoacan.   The butterflies can be viewed all winter, but mid to late February is the best. 

Searching for the Monarch Butterflies

in search of the Monarch Butterfly https://mythatchedhut.com/search-monarch-butterfly/