Monarch Caterpillars
Macheros, Mexico State Mexico
Photograph by Jennifer Bjarnason February 2022
Weighing less than one gram, the awe-inspiring monarch butterflies glide across the sky, conserving their energy by travelling on air currents as they embark on a phenomenal multi-generational journey. Monarch butterflies can fly over 160 kilometres (100 miles) per day, hovering above the earths surface at a remarkable height of 800-1200 feet.
The bewildering migration of monarchs is unique to other migrating species, as the monarchs are the only creature to embark on a multi-generational journey. Birds migrate annually while salmon return to their ancestral streams to lay eggs, but monarch butterflies require several generations to carry-out their annual mission, each covering one leg of the route during their lifespan of 2-6 weeks. The lifespan of these migrating monarchs is dependent on climate, while their ability to lay eggs and maintain their population is reliant on a healthy environment with abundant nectar and milkweed growing in pastures and gardens that are free of pesticides.
Methuselah Generation
Sierra Chincua, Michaocan Mexico
Photo by Jennifer Bjarnason January 2024
The most fascinating generation is the Methuselah, as their lifespan is 5-6 months. These monarchs are larger in size than the other short-lived generations and they are sturdy enough to withstand the entire southbound journey of around 4500+ kilometres to their wintering home in central Mexico. After their long journey home, they cluster together in huge colonies for several months and are the same generation that starts the first part of the multi-generational journey back to the north.
As with silkworms and other select insects and snails, the Methuselah monarchs are the only generation to suspend their reproductive system by going into what is called diapause. This reproductive hibernation is triggered by environmental factors including length of day, seasonal climate changes and the dying of plants. Some insects go into diapause as embryo's, while others pause as larvae or pupae. The methuselah monarchs go into diapause as adults upon maturation until their departure north, which happens throughout the month of March.
More sturdy than delicate
El Rosario, Michaocan Mexico
Photo by Jennifer Bjarnason February 2022
Environmental health is the most important ingredient for saving the monarch migration, which is currently endangered. What seems like a small mistake can have a catastrophic impact, such as the planting of milkweed in places where monarchs do not traditionally lay their eggs, or the killing of milkweed by farmers who don't want it growing in their agricultural lands. Pesticides, as we all know, have disastrous consequences on all living creatures and the disappearance of our insect population is only just starting to be seriously monitored.
There are many ways we can assist the survival of this unique and special migration and it all begins with our dietary choices. There are so many benefits to being conscious of what we consume and what environmental impacts our choices have. Eating beef from grass-fed cattle is much preferred over grain-fed, and reducing our meat consumption is highly recommended by all environmental scientists. Growing pesticide-free gardens with native plants allows indigenous plant species to thrive, and if you happen to be along the migration path in an area where monarchs lay eggs, growing milkweed is beneficial.
If you would like expert advise on what you should be growing in your garden, please contact us. We will put you in touch with a professional consultant who can advise you on the most helpful plants for your region.
Please consider joining us for one of our educational tours to the UNESCO protected monarch butterfly biosphere. You will have the chance to converse with an energetic and passionate monarch expert, as our tours are led by award winning scientists. We offer short tours with research scientist Dr. Pablo Jaramillo Lopez, who has spent the bulk of his career studying monarch habitats in Mexico. We also offer an extended tour with biologist Trecia E Neal from Atlanta, Georgia, whose specialty is educating people about monarch gardens and how to create supportive habitats to assist their migration north.
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Temperate Mineral Pools
Jungapeo, Michoacan Mexico
Photo by Jennifer Bjaranson January 2019
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