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The Understandable Infidelity of the Monarchs
Everyone wants to claim ownership of the beautiful.
There are few butterflies so distinct and lovely as the monarch. And judging by the number of company logos, t-shirts, home dιcor, etc. emblazoned with monarch butterflies, this species is a national treasure. Indeed, no fewer than seven states regard the monarch as their state insect (or state butterfly, for those forward-thinking states that designate one of these). This is OUR insect.
It turns out that the monarchs don't agree. In fact, monarchs get around more than a Grateful Dead roadie.
First of all, like many seniors and spring-breakers, monarchs like to spend their winters someplace warm and sunny. The migrations of the monarchs down to Mexico overwintering sights are pretty well known to even those not interested in insect natural history.
The question of how monarchs from all over eastern North America find their overwintering sites in a certain (Continued on page 4)
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