Monarch butterfly super generation live up to 9 times longer than most monarchs, migrates thousands of miles

[andmadeatrumpetofhisarse]

Monarch butterflies hanging from tree branches

Monarchs born west of the Rockies stay there, and migrate shorter distances. It's this super generation, born in Canada and east of the Rockies in the northern United States, that flies to Mexico. Hundreds of millions of them join up on a journey of some 3,000 miles, which can take them three months or longer. To help them find their way, monarchs have circadian clocks in their antennae and navigate using internal compasses that respond to the position of the sun and the Earth's magnetic field.

The monarchs were discovered by researchers on this mountain range in 1975 and the Mexican government declared the area a federal reserve 11 years later. But for decades, illegal logging threatened the butterfly's roosting spots, which once covered as much as 45 acres, it's now down to four and a half. World Wildlife Fund has spent years trying to combat the destruction, assessing the health of the forest, measuring the size of butterfly colonies, and planting trees. They've also worked with local communities and indigenous groups to protect the land and help them profit from tourism. The good news is the forest is rebounding.

Anderson Cooper: So what-- what are they doing here?

Court Whelan: Yeah, so this is kind of a classic mud puddling of the monarch butterflies. So–

Anderson Cooper: Mud puddling?

Monarch butterfly super generation live up to 9 times longer than most monarchs, migrates thousands of miles

Monarchs traveled to a remote part of Mexico, a journey they've made for thousands of years, and wintered there. Now tens of millions of the butterflies are on an epic aerial journey back north.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[andmadeatrumpetofhisarse]

I pressed something such that the thing posted before it was ready, but here's a bit that wound up missing and mangled above:

Anderson Cooper: Mudd puddling?