Their short-life progeny, which begin life in the mountains of Mexico, will also begin the return journey back to the United States and Canada, in a staged relay covering several generations of butterflies. The females will lay over 400 eggs each on the fine leaves of the asclepias and afterwards gather nectar from the flowers, the fuel source that provides the energy for them to make the journey back north.īy mid March, the same Methuselah generation of butterflies that arrived here in November will begin fluttering in a bid to catch the spring time’s ascending air currents which will propel them on their journey back across the border to the United States and Canada. In February, when the temperatures begin to rise, the Monarchs begin their mating rituals. :Learn more about a customized tour to see the Monarch Butterflies The Monarch’s Reproduction & Journey Back North Our travel partners have been taking people to see the Monarch Butterflies for over 15 years and create custom tours that enable you to get the most from a visit to the Monarch Butterfly sanctuaries in Mexico. The best time to see the butterflies is between late January and the end of March: before late January, the air temperature is cooler and the butterflies don’t flutter as much.Īrrange a custom tour to see the Monarch Butterflies in Mexico As the sun heats the day, some of the butterflies will flutter in the forests and return to the tree trunks when the air cools. Once here, the butterflies cluster on the tree trunks and remain in the area for the winter. They settle in the O yamel fir tree forests which are situated in the eastern perimeter of the Mexican state of Michoacán, also bordering the state of Mexico, in the forested mountains west of Mexico City. The butterflies travel only by day and will roost overnight, usually on the branches and trunks of trees.īy around mid November each year, the Monarch butterflies will begin arriving in Mexico. This technique uses their energy efficiently, and physically enables them to undertake the long journey. The butterflies take advantage of ascending warm-air currents, gliding in the thrust they provide, needing only to flap their wings when the air current diminishes a little or when they change their flight path.
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Migrating Monarch butterflies travel in colonies of about 20 million insects and will travel between 80-120 nautical miles per day, depending on the wind and other weather conditions. These butterflies can live up to 9 months and this generation will not breed in the north: instead, the butterflies store up nectar from flowers and use this as fuel to enables them to migrate south for the winter. This is a very special generation of butterfly, born once a year near the end of the summer months.
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However, one of the mysteries of these insects is their capability to breed what has been termed by scientists as a ‘Methuselah’ generation. This in turn provides the butterfly with a powerful defense ‘shield’ against potential predators and thus assists the insects in their 3,000 mile journey south, to winter in the mountains west of Mexico City.Īdult Monarchs live only for 3-4 weeks. The milkweed contains a chemical that is toxic to many species, but which Monarchs can, uniquely, assimilate and store in the cells of its outer skin.
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Milkweed plants provide an essential food source for their caterpillars. An adult wingspan will reach about 4.5 inches (11 centimeters) and weight one gram or less. The Monarch Butterfly, in Latin known as Danaus Plexippus, is native to the North American tropics. The Monarch’s Reproduction & Journey Back North