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.
Monarch butterflies migrate south
Today in History
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Infinity Day
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Belgium celebrates its independence
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Longtailed widowbird at Rietvlei Nature Reserve, South Africa
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Monarch butterflies migrate south
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Celebrating the first day of spring
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International Day of Peace
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International Day of Mangrove Conservation
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Hyalite Creek at Custer Gallatin National Forest, Montana
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Labor Day
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American goldfinch
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Think deep thoughts
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Male kori bustard, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
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Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia
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Bear watching in the Finnish forest
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Strolling across the Red Lagoon
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Summer winds down in the Southern Hemisphere
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Art and soul
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In celebration of America’s national bird
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Singing praises of the oceans
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A misty morning in Brazil
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Get on your bike and ride
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Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico
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World-class art comes to Arkansas
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National Mountain Climbing Day
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Islands that turned the tide
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Happy Lunar New Year!
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Big wheels on a big mountain
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Light show in the forest
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A tree of many memories
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Merry Christmas!