Monarch Butterfly

November 07, 2002

Wings

Provided by: Shannon L. Story, StoryLine Ink
Summary authors & editors: Jim Foster; Shannon L. Story

Most of the beautiful orange and black Monarch Butterflies are already in Mexico now, or are well on their way. This one was captured on film a few weeks ago in northeastern Texas, taking a break before it continued its arduous southerly trek. Hundreds of thousands of monarchs descended upon Abilene, Texas in early October, resting and gathering nourishment from wildflowers and backyard gardens in order to fortify themselves for their distant migration. The monarchs will simply wait for favorable winds to move them in the direction they want to go. Once in Mexico, more than one hundred million monarchs will congregate in groves of fir trees near the village of El Campanario. From November until March, they'll remain in a near dormant state in the cool Mexican highlands. Unfortunately, last year, several million of these fragile creatures perished in a freak ice and snow storm.

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