Probably the most recognizable of all the butterfly species, monarchs are helpful pollinators that can be found across the United States and Canada in the summer. But each fall, millions of these orange and black beauties embark upon one of the world"s most amazing migrations. The insects make use of air currents to make the long journey south to the mountains of southwestern Mexico, a flight of up to 3,000 miles. Aside from being a staggeringly great distance for these delicate insects to fly, it"s also a journey to a place that not one of them has ever been to before. And unlike the many bird species that undertake annual round-trip migrations, these butterflies will never return to the north. Why not? Because the distance and length of the total annual migration cycle is greater than the lifespan of individual monarchs.
The migrating monarchs of Michoacán
Today in History
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Saguaro cacti, Ironwood Forest National Monument, Arizona
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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC
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Al-Khazneh in Petra, Jordan
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My my, it s Syttende Mai
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National Museum of African American History and Culture
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A predator at risk
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Digging the birds
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A palace for the public
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Rice processing in Bangladesh
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A view fit for a queen
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Islands that turned the tide
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Tafilalet oasis in Morocco
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Celebrating sea otters
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A river runs through it
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World Rivers Day
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The Door County Coastal Byway in Wisconsin
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A species no longer at risk
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Welcome to the Alien Egg Hatchery
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Hey, you two in the front!
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Celebrating National Park Week, April 21-29
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Welcome to my neck of the woods
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Ayutthaya Historical Park, Thailand
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Bowling Ball Beach in Mendocino County, California
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Groundhog Day arrives—beyond a shadow of a doubt
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What a twist
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Mack Arch Rock
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Après-ski in the Dolomites
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The ruins of a Maya superpower
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Tasiilaq, Greenland
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Bridge of Hillsborough County