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The Monarch's Grand Kingdom

© Karen E. Lynn

Spring is approaching, much to the relief of many snow weary residents of New England. I have often complained that “we haven’t had a good old-fashioned New England winter” in some time. This year was a lesson to me: be careful what you wish for. You just may get it. As the deep snow begins to recede and I dream of muddy hikes this spring, I am reminded that although I still scrap the ice from my windshield each morning, that right now in the grips of March, one of the oldest yearly events on earth is taking place.

Many times while hiking, or even in my backyard I’ve come across the lovely Monarch butterfly. I’ve always found them a gracious flutter of beauty. One of the most remarkable events in nature in the grand migration of the Monarch. Their three thousand mile journey begins now in March, http://www.learner.org/jnorth/spring1998... where they have spent the cold winter months in the sub-tropical climate of central Mexico. Monarchs converge over 50 small acres in the mountains of Angangeuo, just west of Mexico City, where the cover the oyamel fir trees in blankets of brilliant orange by the thousands. Early in March, they lift off the fir trees at once to begin their long exodus north. Their destination: Northern United States and Canada, where they will breed and remain for the summer before returning to Mexico in the fall.

Before reaching the northern states, Monarchs stop in the southeast, depositing their eggs on the milkweed plant in Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. The eggs hatch and their children continue northeast, arriving in the New England area by late May and early June. The life span of the Monarch is a mere 4 to 8 weeks. This means that all the butterflies that arrive to our corner of the world to breed every year, without fail have never been here before, and conversely, none of the Monarchs that return to Mexico in the fall have ever been there either. There are a few Monarchs that enter a period of diapause (delay of sexual maturity) and migrate back to Mexico when autumn approaches. These butterflies will survive up to 8 or 9 months.

The beautiful and delicate creatures numbers range between 60-100 million. This may seem like a healthy population, however the Monarchs number have dwindled significantly in recent years. Many scientists consider Monarchs to be well on their way to becoming endangered. Factors contributing to the declining population can be directly traced to

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