Insect field note
Thousands of miles home
The Butterfly's Long Journey
Monarch butterflies fly up to 3,000 miles to a place none of them have ever been before, following a path their great-great-grandparents once flew.
Let's look closer
How can a butterfly find its way to a place it has never seen?
onarchs sense the position of the sun and use a kind of internal compass to keep flying the right direction, even as the sun moves across the sky through the day. No single butterfly makes the whole round trip itself β it takes several generations, each one flying part of the journey before laying eggs for the next to continue. Scientists still marvel at how such a small, light creature manages to carry that whole map without ever having seen it.
Look for this
Explorer clue
In late summer or fall, watch for monarch butterflies resting on flowers in a garden or park, refueling before their long flight.
Your turn to wonder
Curiosity question
Is there a place you have never been that you would love to visit someday?
Keep wandering
