Latest Monarch Stories
It's a paradox that has confounded evolutionary biologists since Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species in 1859: Since parasites depend on their hosts for survival, why do they harm them?A new University of Georgia and Emory University study of monarch butterflies and the microscopic parasites that hitch a ride on them finds that the parasites strike a middle ground between the benefits gained by reproducing rapidly and the costs to their hosts. The study, published in the early...
Genetic information about the biological clock of monarch butterflies might reveal information about our circadian rhythms.A study was published online in the Public Library of Science and their Biology Journal which found that the biological clocks of butterflies help them use the sun as a compass. Dr. Steven Reppert, a neurobiologist from the University of Massachusetts led the study's seven-member research team. His reasoning? "A butterfly's brain is no bigger than the head of a pin,...
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science CorrespondentWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Wildlife officials in Mexico, the United States and Canada have agreed to work together to protect the Monarch butterfly, which makes a spectacular migration every year from Canada to Mexico.Officials from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, Canada's Wildlife Service and Parks Agency and Mexico's Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources have designated 13 wildlife preserves as...
By George Nishiyama TOKYO (Reuters) - As a child, Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito led a lonely, stifled existence. Imperial staff decreed what he ate and whom he met, and even a short trip outside the palace required huge security and elaborate planning. Now some people, including the crown prince himself, say Japan's imperial household needs to modernize, abandoning ancient practices which have forced members of the royal family to sacrifice personal ambition and suppress their...
By Suleiman al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordan's King Abdullah appointed his national security chief as prime minister on Thursday, underscoring the king's desire to give security forces a bigger role in decision making, a senior official said. The official said the monarch asked Marouf Bakheet, 58, a former ambassador to Israel with a long career in military intelligence, to form a new government to address security concerns after triple suicide bombings killed 60 people. Former...
By Anahi RamaEL ROSARIO, Mexico -- Wildlife officials say good weather should bring a surge in the number of monarch butterflies migrating to Mexico this year, after last year's cold resulted in the lowest numbers in more than a decade.Each fall tens of millions of the bright orange and black butterflies begin arriving in central Mexico's Michoacan state to winter in the fir trees after a 3,000-mile (4,800-km) trek from Canada that fascinates biologists.At El Rosario reserve, one of five...
MEXICO CITY --Â As many as 200 million Monarch butterflies may migrate to Mexico this year - a nearly tenfold increase over 2004, when unfavorable weather, pollution and deforestation caused a drastic decline in the population, environmental officials said Tuesday. Last year, fewer than 23 million butterflies survived long enough to leave habitats in the United States and Canada for sanctuaries in the state of Mexico, which borders Mexico City, and neighboring Michoacan state. That was at...
By Chris AspinLLANO DE LAS PAPAS, Mexico -- Cows ran for cover and schoolchildren wearing black and orange wings cheered as an ultralight pilot tracking the monarch butterfly migration ended his 3,000-mile journey from Canada to Mexico on Thursday.Vico Gutierrez flew his plane alongside the bright orange and black butterflies for 72 days and landed near the Angangueo forest sanctuary set aside for them in Mexico, where they rest after an annual migration that fascinates biologists.It was the...
MEXICO CITY -- The annual arrival of millions of Monarch butterflies from the forests of eastern Canada to the central Mexican mountains for the winter is an aesthetic and scientific wonder. And this year, they won't be flying alone. A crew of two plans to accompany the butterflies on their 3,415 mile-journey while riding in an oversized hang-glider painted with giant versions of the orange, black and white wings of the Monarch. Their aim is to raise awareness about the need to better...
Jerusalem -- While "navigation" systems in automobiles are a fairly new (and still costly) innovation, monarch butterflies have managed for millennia to navigate their way for a distance of some 3000 miles (4800 kilometers) each fall from Canada to Mexico (and vice-versa in the spring) without losing their way. The phenomenon of long-range bird migration is a well-known one, but not in the insect world. Also, among birds their migration route is a round-trip one, which they make...
Latest Monarch Reference Libraries
The Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a well-known North American butterfly with easily identifiable orange and black wings. The females have darker veins on their wings, and the males have a spot in the center of each hindwing from which pheromones are released. Monarchs are especially noted for their lengthy annual migration. They make massive southward migrations from August through October. A northward migration takes place in the spring. During these migrations the females...
A butterfly is a flying insect of the order Lepidoptera belonging to one of the superfamilies Hesperioidea (the skippers) and Papilionoidea (all other butterflies). Many butterflies have remarkable colors and patterns on their wings. People who study or collect butterflies (or the closely related moths) are called lepidopterists. Butterfly watching is growing in popularity as a hobby. The four stages in the lifecycle of a butterfly Unlike many insects, butterflies do not experience a...
