Monarch Butterfly

ABOUT THE MONARCHEvery fall, as cold weather approaches, millions of these delicate insects leave their home range in Canada and the United States and begin flying south. They travel between 1,200 and 2,800 miles or more from the northeast United States, and southeast Canada to the mountain forests in central Mexico, where they find the right climate conditions to hibernate from the beginning of November to mid-March. Adult monarch butterflies possess two pairs of brilliant orange-red wings, featuring black veins and white spots along the edges. Each adult butterfly lives only about four to five weeks. Monarchs are on the the WWF endangered species list. WWF’s 2013 report from Mexico showed that the number of monarch butterflies wintering there was at its lowest in 20 years. The number is measured by the amount of forest they occupy, and in 2013 the number of butterfly acres decreased from approximately seven to three. Abnormal patterns of drought and rainfall in the U.S. and Canada br