Western Monarch Day Feb 5, 2024

Western Monarch Day

Western Monarch Day celebrates a stunning natural phenomenon, the annual migration of thousands of flame-colored butterflies to California. Traveling south to escape the winter weather, they use air currents to help them make journeys of hundreds of miles. They descend to gather in large numbers on eucalyptus trees, like the ones pictured on our homepage today in Goleta, Santa Barbara County. Those gathered to see clusters of butterflies in 100-foot-tall trees might confuse them for clumps of leaves at first. However, as the sun"s rays gently fall upon them, 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, 2018Iceberg off the coast of Antarctica
Feb 5, 2019Welcome to the Year of the Pig
Feb 5, 2020Frozen beauty
Feb 5, 2021A sea of swirling stone
Feb 5, 2022Monarch butterflies in Angangueo, Mexico
Feb 5, 2023Monarch butterflies, Pismo Beach, California
Feb 5, 2025Scottish Blackface sheep, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Feb 5, 2026Salt evaporation ponds on the island of Gozo, Malta

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Jun 12, 2020Big sky at Big Bend
Jun 18, 2021A city of bridges
Mar 7, 2024Roques de Benet, Els Ports Natural Park, Catalonia, Spain
Jan 23, 2021A sleeping green giant
Dec 28, 2021Kjell Henriksen Observatory
Jun 8, 2025World Oceans Day
Jan 21, 2023Kangaroo family for National Hugging Day
Feb 17, 2021The persistence of Perito Moreno
Aug 24, 2019Get the bear facts
Aug 28, 2023Dubrovnik, Croatia
Aug 1, 2021Welcome to Scotland s garden
Dec 21, 2024Happy winter solstice!
Dec 27, 2018A wonderland in winter
Aug 12, 2019Don t forget—it’s World Elephant Day
Apr 5, 2018Mada’in Saleh archeological site in Saudi Arabia
Dec 16, 2020Beethoven s 250th
Feb 2, 2026Groundhog Day
Oct 8, 2019Let s celebrate cephalopods
Oct 9, 2025Space Week isnt over yet!
May 29, 2024World Otter Day
Jul 8, 2020It s only Wednesday
May 14, 2024Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico
Mar 22, 2025World Water Day
Nov 15, 2025Irohazaka Road in fall, Nikko, Tochigi, Japan
Mar 19, 2022Chicagohenge
Dec 1, 2022Antarctica Day
Oct 13, 2019Acadia transformed
Oct 3, 2025Glen Brittle, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Sep 16, 2021A cry for independence
Jun 16, 2022Seonam Temple, South Korea