Monarch butterflies Feb 5, 2024

Around this time of year, beautiful, flame-coloured monarch butterflies finish their long migration that starts hundreds of kilometres north in October of the previous year. They gracefully descend upon Southern California, gathering in large numbers on eucalyptus trees. The best place to spot these insects is in the city of Goleta, situated in southern Santa Barbara County. Those gathered to see the clumps of butterflies in 30-metre-tall trees might confuse them for clumps of leaves, however, as the sun"s rays gently fall upon the insects, their wings will begin to flutter. Bring your binoculars and take the opportunity to witness these winged wonders huddled together, it"s truly a sight to behold!

© Craig Rademacher/500px/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Feb 5, 2025Scottish Blackface sheep, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Feb 5, 2026Salt evaporation ponds on the island of Gozo, Malta

More Desktop Wallpapers:

May 14, 2025Porto Flavia, Sulcis-Iglesiente, Sardinia, Italy
Feb 8, 2026Corfu, Greece
Nov 5, 2024Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, Brazil
Apr 22, 2024Green sea turtle
Nov 18, 2024Porthcawl lighthouse, Wales
Sep 9, 2023Ayutthaya Historical Park, Thailand
Apr 11, 2026Papagayo Beach, Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain
Nov 12, 2025Colosseum, Rome, Italy
Jul 1, 2025Fishing village of Tilting, Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Mar 17, 2025Samuel Beckett Bridge, Dublin, Ireland
May 25, 2024Aït Benhaddou, Morocco
May 27, 2024Baia del Silenzio in Sestri Levante, Italy
Jul 29, 2025Bengal tiger, India
Nov 20, 2023Castell Coch, Tongwynlais, South Wales
Oct 3, 2026Brown bear in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Alaska, USA
Jun 17, 2025Maritime forest in Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia, United States
Feb 28, 2026Oloupena Falls, island of Molokai, Hawaii, United States
Oct 9, 2024Aspens near Marble, Colorado, USA
Feb 27, 2025Polar bear cub, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada
Jul 24, 2025Family of ashy woodswallows
Nov 27, 2024Tombeau du Géant in Bouillon, Belgium
Aug 27, 2025Sørvágsvatn lake, island of Vágar, Faroe Islands
Jan 23, 2025Deer Valley at dusk, Park City, Utah, United States
Aug 25, 2024Glacier National Park, Montana
Sep 13, 2025Point Reyes National Seashore
Aug 10, 2024Joshua Tree National Park, California, USA
Jul 24, 2024Swaledale sheep in North Yorkshire, England
Nov 8, 2024Glacial rivers, Iceland
May 1, 2024Hawaiian lei flower garlands
Jan 6, 2025Flooded crypt, Basilica of San Francesco, Ravenna, Italy