Most people don’t think about where butterflies come from.
Or where there end up for that matter.
We enjoy their presence and beauty and then go about our day.
The Monarch butterfly has a very interesting, albeit, short life.
The migration pattern is considered one of nature’s greatest wonders.
Monarchs are the only butterflies that will travel 2500 miles to a warmer climate.
What’s even more amazing is they winter every year in the same mountain range in Mexico.
And, to amaze you even more, these butterflies have never been there before!
Scientists have studied the migration pattern of Monarchs for years. Even though the life span of the monarch is about a month, the offspring seem to follow the same route as their ancestors did years before them.
In Northwest Arkansas, the monarchs are just now appearing in my garden. They are traveling south from northern states where they have spent the summer.
Their only hope for survival is the milkweed plant (Asclepias sp.)
Asclepias tuberosa is commonly seen along roadsides in Arkansas, but the problem is the highway department cuts them down right when the Monarchs need it most.
Stay tuned!
Brenda
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