Migration and Overwintering
www.fs.usda.gov

... The annual migration of North America's monarch butterfly is a unique and amazing phenomenon. The monarch is the only butterfly known to make a two-way migration as birds do. Unlike other butterflies that can overwinter as larvae, pupae, or even as adults in some species, monarchs cannot survive the cold winters of northern climates.

Using environmental cues, the monarchs know when it is time to travel south for the winter. Monarchs use a combination of air currents and thermals to travel long distances.

Some fly as far as 3,000 miles to reach their winter home!

Where Do Monarchs Go?

Monarchs in Eastern North America have a second home in the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico. Monarchs in Western North America overwinter in California. ...

Wait, what????

The Monarch butterflies I see here in Connection travel to Mexico for the winter, and then back to Connecticut in the spring?

That butterfly flies 3000 miles?