Monarch Butterfly Gathering

by Judi Dressler

Title

Monarch Butterfly Gathering

Artist

Judi Dressler

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Monarch Butterflies during the annual migration in Michoacan, Mexico, gathering on a plant.

During the four to five months that the butterflies stay in Mexico in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Michoacan, the forests become an orange wonderland. Pine, oak, and oyamel trees are completely covered with butterflies that tend to stay very close together. When the temperatures are too cold – especially early in the morning – they sleep in clusters and close their wings, so at first sight they might seem like dry leaves on the trees. When it gets a little bit warmer, they open their colorful wings wide and fly around the forest (as part of their mating ritual) creating a magical scene.

As part of their migration cycle, monarch butterflies fly around 2,800 miles from Canada and the United States to spend the coldest months of the year in warmer lands. The monarch butterfly has the longest migration trajectory of any insect, and their journey is a wonder in itself. These beautiful creatures start their long flight in August and arrive during the first days of November to the tall trees they'll call home until spring. They stream into the protected areas of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, which was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2008.

Photo taken in Michoacan, Mexico, in the Rosario Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in March, 2023.

------------------------------------------

Won 2nd Place (tie) in FAA's Butterflies in Motion contest, on 4/28/2024

------------------------------------------

Descriptive keywords and tags for this image include monarch butterflies, monarchs, butterflies, butterfly migration, migration, flower, flying, mexico, beautiful, michoacan, wildlife, wild, danaus plexippus, papilio, angangueo, dressler, and judi dressler.

Uploaded

October 29th, 2023

Colors

Embed

Share

Tags