Monarch butterflies migrate south Oct 3, 2018

Monarch butterflies migrate south

Fall sets in motion a journey of some 3,000 miles for these monarch butterflies, which migrate from southern Canada to their wintering habitat in central Mexico. There, they cluster together in fir trees, creating the illusion of orange, fluttering foliage. They’ll remain in their winter roosts until March, when the journey back north begins. But no one individual monarch will complete the full roundtrip, which exceeds the normal monarch lifespan; instead it will take four generations of monarchs to complete the full migration, each individual seemingly driven by an internal compass that guides its flight path.

© Alejandro Prieto/Minden Pictures

palette

Today in History

Oct 3, 2019Love on ice
Oct 3, 2020In the belly of Fat Bear Week
Oct 3, 2021Birthplace of Roman emperors
Oct 3, 2022World Architecture Day
Oct 3, 2023Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Island, Australia
Oct 3, 2024Taj Mahal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
Oct 3, 2025Glen Brittle, Isle of Skye, Scotland

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Feb 4, 2023Rosa Parks Day
Feb 11, 2020Celebrating women in science
Jan 22, 2020A horse of many colors
Nov 19, 2021Zion National Park, Utah
Oct 22, 2018We did not invent this, honest
Jul 1, 2023The Tour de France begins
Jun 10, 2021A Portuguese fort takes a star turn
Mar 24, 2023Wild garlic in bloom at Hainich National Park, Germany
May 6, 2022Bluebells in Hertfordshire, England
Apr 9, 2023Happy Easter!
Nov 21, 2024Lion cubs, South Africa
Feb 22, 2025Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri
Apr 30, 2021The Spirit of Harlem by Louis Delsarte
Apr 3, 2022Lake Tai s cherry trees in bloom
Aug 20, 2018Looking back at Yellowstone, 30 years after the fires
Feb 4, 2021Where is this wintry road?
Jul 25, 2021Illuminated Uluru
Nov 16, 2019Mountain mists over Bavaria
Dec 13, 2023Svolvaer, Lofoten Islands, Norway
Feb 24, 2020Wind horses carry wishes for a new year
Sep 22, 2024Autumnal equinox
Jan 4, 2024Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California
Apr 28, 2019A good time in the Badlands
Dec 27, 2024Lake Bled, Slovenia
Apr 9, 2020Hooray, hooray, it s Unicorn Day!
Sep 10, 2020Hidden beauty in Thailand
Aug 17, 2025International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend
May 4, 2021Happy Star Wars Day!
Dec 4, 2023International Cheetah Day
Nov 19, 2022Zion National Park turns 103