Monarchs are incredible!

[Vulgaris]

Hello

I just saw an awesome program on TV about the monarch migration.

They filmed the whole thing, and tracked monarchs from Canada to Mexico.

They said that there are only 12 spots in the mountains in Mexico where they stop, and that this is the only place in the whole world where they migrate to. Incredible!

But the one thing I don't quite understand is what they said at the end. They said most of the monarchs will go to Texas when spring comes and lay their eggs there. Then those offspring will continue north, and their offspring are the ones that fly to Mexico. Is this correct? So there is a generation that does not go to Mexico?

[Mona Miller]

Although this was an incredible program, it had many errors.

It is the fourth generation that makes the journey to Mexico in the fall. But, smaller colonies of Monarchs exist in California, the Gulf of Mexico, and Florida. I read in my natural history of butterflies of north america that Dr. Urquhart (a Canadian scientist) who studied Monarchs for 50 years and started the initial tagging of Monarchs had tagged a Monarchs near Mexico City that was recovered in New York. This generation that travels to Mexico from the USA and Canada does not reproduce until they return in the spring (if they are the generation that is in sexual diapause).

Find out more about their biology at the Monarch Watch website:
http://www.monarchwatch.org/tagmig/index.htm

[TreeFarm]

I also watched the Nova special on Monarch migration and found it amazing. However, I live in N FL and have Monarchs as frequent visitors to my gardens. Do these migrate or are they a static population? Thanks; ... Lynn Gill Trenton FL

[Mona Miller]

There are parts of Florida that have a year round population. If they are breeding, they are not in diapause so they would not be wintering over and returning. Those Monarchs not in sexual diapause do not live as long so they would not make it through the winter to return to the north. There are places in Florida where Monarchs do winter over and do return North in the spring.

[keithpetrosky]

I saw it yesterday and it was a cool program, they mentioned Monarch Watch too!