Monarch Butterfly Migration Facts

Location/Distance

• The eastern population of butterflies goes to Mexico (up to 3600 km away).

• The western population goes to California (up to 1100 km away).

• Non-migratory monarch butterflies live in Central and South America, the Caribbean Islands,and the Pacific Islands.
  
  

Mating

• They are polygamous.

• They use tactics like aerial tackling, wrestling on ground, and attached in flight 30-60 minutes when they mate.

• The male provides spermatophore.

Feeding

• As larva they eat milkweed which has toxins to keep preditors away.

• The adults eats nectar from flowers.

• Migrant adults convert nectar to lipids and store them in their bodies.
  
  

Migration Cues

• Cooling temperatures in the fall and warming temperatures in the spring cue the butterflies to migrate.

• Also, the shortening days in fall and lengthening days in spring tell them to migrate.
  
  

Navigational Mechanisms

• They use the sun as a compass.

• They also use magnetic navigation.