North American Monarch butterflies make stop in area on their mass migration south
They are heading for Mexico to roost, traveling 50-100 miles a day – in the midst of a journey that can take them up to two months to complete.
This past weekend was a busy weekend in the area welcoming the special “orange-and-black” (accented with touches of white) as the North American Monarch butterflies make their mass migration south to their winter habitats.
Among those so honored to serve as hosts for the butterflies (at least the trees on their farmsite provided enough space for many to land comfortably) were Jack and Becky Jungas of rural Mountain Lake. The couple took advantage of the opportunity to snap a series of photographs of their special visitors, two of which are included in this post. According to Jack and Becky, they arrived last Thursday, September 4 – and were still “hanging around” today (Tuesday, September 9).
Millions of Monarch butterflies east of the Rocky Mountains make the trip down to Mexico to roost for the winter. Those living west of the Rocky Mountains head for southern California. During the migration tens of thousands will land on a single tree in certain areas along their migratory path.
North American Monarchs are the only butterflies that make such a massive journey; if they are heading to Mexico, that trip could be up to 3,000 miles. The insects must begin this journey each fall ahead of cold weather, which will kill them if they wait too long. Monarch butterflies cannot fly if their body temperature is less than 86 degrees. If it drops below that mark, they will sit in the sun or “shiver” their wings to warm up.
Only Monarchs born in late summer or early fall make the migration – and they make only one round trip. By the time next year’s winter migration begins, several summer generations will have lived and died and it will be last year’s migrators’ great-grandchildren that make the trip. Yet somehow these new generations know the way, and follow the same routes their ancestors took – sometimes even returning to the same tree.
Many scientists are concerned about the eastern population of monarchs, which summer east of the Rocky Mountains. This group is occurring in ever smaller numbers, and its survival may be threatened by a series of natural disasters in the Mexican wintering grounds, as well as by reduced acreage of milkweed plants in their summer home.
It is also predicted that as the world warms, there will be wetter and colder winters. If they are dry, Monarchs can survive below freezing temperatures, but if they get wet and the temperature drops – they will freeze to death. Because hundreds of millions of Monarchs are located in such a small area in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Mexico during the winter, a cold snap there could be devastating.
According to the National Wildlife Federation website, wildlife and nature groups located along the Monarch’s flight route have made a point to focus on the insect’s dwindling habitat by reinvesting in what they need – an extensive planting of milkweed patches. Wherever there is milkweed – there will be Monarch butterflies. Meanwhile, Mexico has created a reserve that protects 217 square miles of forests in the Sierra Madres, where hundreds of million of monarchs spend each winter. In addition, local Mexican organizations are working to stop the illegal harvesting of trees on the reserve to protect wintering habitat.
Why worry about the Monarch butterfly? Adult Monarch butterflies pollinate flowers while feeding on the nectar of flowers.
Musings on Monarch butterflies
With helpful knowledge from the National Geographic website, following are a few musings on the life and times of Monarch butterflies. Monarchs begin life as eggs and hatch as larvae that eat their eggshells and, subsequently, the milkweed plants on which they were placed. In fact, Monarch larvae feed exclusively on milkweed plants – and, the Monarch will always return to areas rich in milkweed in order to lay their eggs on the plant. Adults, meanwhile, get their nutrients from the nectar of flowers.
The fattening larvae become juicy, colorful caterpillars, then create a hard protective case around themselves as they enter the pupa stage. They emerge as beautifully colored, black-orange-and-white adults. The colorful pattern makes monarchs easy to identify – and that’s the whole incredible idea. The distinctive pattern warns predators that the insects are foul tasting and poisonous. (How and why this works? The milkweed Monarchs feed on as caterpillars is actually a poisonous toxin that is stored in their bodies. This is what makes the monarch butterfly taste so terrible to predators.)
Monarchs can produce four generations during one summer. The first three generations that emerge from chrysalides (pupa state) during the longer days and warmer weather of summer have life spans of from two-to-six weeks and will continue moving north. During this time, they will mate and have the next generation that will continue that northward migration. The fourth generation, those emerging in late summer and early fall, are different and can live up to nine months. Only these Monarchs are born to fly, and are keenly aware of the changing weather.
Location, location, location
There is a common phrase that goes, “Location, location, location.”
Many times it is all about location – a prime location.
And, the location of the Jungas farmsite is just one example of how its choice location played a significant role in calling in the hundreds of Monarch butterflies that came to roost on their trees. Their yard is near Sulem Lake (really a slough) southeast of Mountain Lake, but it – and surrounding acres – are cream-of-the-crop land for milkweed plants.
Milkweed plants that once supported the Monarch eggs, fed them as larvae and caterpillars – and who – as butterflies after emerging from their pupa stage – are now taking one last “fly by” as they prep to make their long flight south to Mexico.
