Quote:
Originally Posted by Lee Stewart
The migrating monarch butterfly has an impressive ability to navigate long distances. Every year, millions of monarchs travel thousands of miles from Canada to Mexico and back, a feat that seems impossible for such a delicate creature.
They navigate their destination using a combination of the position of the sun, their internal body clock, memory, and sense of smell. They can remember the location of feeding and breeding sites from several generations ago. Also, they can detect the scent of their host plant from several miles away. |
Annie raises Monarchs from eggs or caterpillars she finds. Two days ago we found one in the plowed field with a malformed and smaller right wing. Annie is now trying to get it healthy though there is not much hope for it long term. Between the farmers chemicals and the amount of birds and other predators here, they would likely not survive long but we are still seeing a dwindling hatch every year since she started. Two years in a row now they have come back to roost in our yard by the thousands on their way south to Mexico. Quite a sight and one that really puts a smile on Annie's face.