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As October comes to an end, temperatures continue to decline from what has been record-breaking warmth throughout much of the United States.
Residents of the northern regions of the U.S. and the southern parts of Canada may have noticed that there have been a larger number of monarch butterflies fluttering through the skies for this time of year.
This is no coincidence.
Warm weather and strong headwinds have delayed the annual monarch migration.
In this April 26, 2015 file photo, a monarch butterfly feeds on a duranta flower in Houston. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan,File)
Millions of monarchs travel about 3,000 miles to overwintering sites in southwestern Mexico, as temperatures drop and the winter season begins.
“This has been the slowest migration that I have seen, and I have been doing this since 1992,” Founder and Director of Monarch Watch Chip Taylor said.
Climate and temperature play a role in their migratory patterns and monarch development.
Monarchs prefer to travel when temperatures are in the 60s and 70s F, but temperatures have been higher than average for this time of year, Taylor said.
Unlike many other insects in temperate climates, monarchs cannot survive a long cold winter, according to the University of Minnesota Monarch Lab.
“Monarchs as migratory organisms need habitat not just in one place, but suitable climate in all different areas of their range,” University of Minnesota Monarch Lab Dr. Kelly Nail said in a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) web seminar.
Monarchs need a “goldilocks” climate, not too hot and not too cold, according to Nail.
Therefore, these monarchs depart to a few mountains in Mexico, where they huddle together on branches of Oyamel fir trees for the winter season.
These trees create a micro-climate for the butterflies, which protects them from extreme temperatures and weather events, according to Nail.
The monarchs…
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