After a journey of approximately 2,300km over the span of 40 days, a monarch butterfly has arrived in Mexico from Winnipeg.
How exactly do researchers know? They’ve been tagging them.
A research team from the Assiniboine Park Zoo, in collaboration with Environment and Climate Change Canada, began attaching miniscule tracking devices to monarchs in August.
Laura Burns, conservation programs manager at the Assiniboine Park Zoo, said the devices run on solar power.
“There’s two tiny solar panels and each little tag weighs 0.06 grams. They are solar powered, so they’ll continue running as long as they have access to sunlight and they ping off of cell towers, cell phones and wildlife telemetry towers to track migration,” she said.
Burns said more than 1,300 monarchs have been tagged this fall across North America.
The Assiniboine Zoo tagged 29, and they are patiently waiting to see more arrive in Mexico.
“Some of them are still on the move. There are a bunch in Kansas and Missouri and Oklahoma and Texas right now,” Burns said. “A few of them will be making it to Mexico the next few days I’m hoping, if the winds are in their favor.”
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The journey though, is a dangerous one.
“They could run into cars, cities, agricultural fields, predators, bad weather events. All of these things can make the journey super dangerous, and we don’t really know the direct path they take,” Burns said.
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But one butterfly tagged by the Winnipeg zoo has already made it to Mexico, one of three that have been detected in the country so far this season.
“It seems like it’s within the realm of normal, but she is one of the early arrivals in Mexico,” Burns said, adding the butterfly still has approximately 800 kilometres to go before it reaches its overwintering site.
Tracking the butterfly migration also allows researchers to identify what pathways they take so they can focus on conservation efforts in those areas.
did this flyer have proper docs to travel thru usa?
I planted milkweed during the summer and I have seen Monarch caterpillars in the milkweed hopefully they make it to adulthood.😅
So now butterflys are triggering some conservatives. Good grief.
Once in a while we need a ‘feel-good’ story!!!
Canada swirling down the toilet under the Liberal regime and the media talks about where do butterflies go!
People like butterflies. No one cares about the illegal barbarians setting France on fire. Thank the left wing governments for letting them in….Enjoy!
@Dean. You would have a point if other media outlets in Canada were covering what’s going on in France. And it’s not immigrants rioting.
Still no news stories about the immigrants burning France to the ground.
But here is one about butterflies