Video
The Migration of Monarchs
North America’s monarch butterfly is the champion of insect migration, traveling more than 2,000 miles each year.
About 200 species of butterflies and moths migrate—move from one area to another. Some migrate to escape the cold, while others migrate to escape overpopulation. However, unlike all other butterflies and moths in temperate regions, Monarchs migrate because they’re not preadapted to winter survival. They travel more than 2,000 miles each year from Mexico (and California) to Canada and back. Yet no one monarch makes the entire trip. Instead, the migration is a kind of relay race passed on from parent to child.
