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Monarch butterflies and their incredible journey

Surely you have seen it in some time you have seen it in some flowers pollination, especially if you live in America, today we will know one of the brightest and longest journeys you have ever known of an animal, it is the monarch butterfly, its annual route takes it to travel the amazing amount of 5,000 kilometers in a distance that goes from Canada to central Mexico.

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Its orange color with black stripes, very similar to a stained glass window, make them easy to recognize, lives in almost half of America, specifically from Canada to some parts of North America South.

The coloration of Monarch Butterflies

As I mentioned the color is fundamental to recognize these beautiful butterflies, its scientific name is Danaus archippus and when they are in their adult stage their color is intense and bright, the front is orange with black stripes or lines, and on the inside is opaque orange.

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Its design is not pure coincidence, this allows it to camouflage itself in the case of the internal part, it manages to fuse with the bark of the trees and its exterior part much more intense and alive in colors is an aggressive alert for other predators, As we well know, bright and shrill colors are interpreted as a sign of poison or danger by most species, and that's what it's all about, since our friend is toxic and poisonous to other animals, and they react peacefully, although the mantises eat them without much concern because their poison does not affect them at all.

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This is what in the scientific world is referred to as aposematism or coloration warning, the evolution of certain species allow you to have colors that warn when it is poisonous, such as orange, yellow.

Cardiac Glucosides is the poison carried inside the monarch and is poisonous for some species, its poison is produced thanks to its cotton diet, and stored in its stage of the caterpillar. And as I mentioned some species such as the mantis to which I will add rodents and birds are totally immune to the venom of the region.

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The monarchs can measure from 8 to 10 cm, the males being a little larger than the females, the males have a black spot in the center of each of their wings,

Stages in the life of the monarch butterfly:

In the life of monarchs go through 4 major stages, The cycle begins with the laying of eggs, usually do so in leaves of plants of the genus Asclepias, better known as cotton, from there they go into a larval state and feed fiercely and quickly on the same leaves until they become a pretty caterpillar, black striped, yellow, and white. Depending when they eat in an approximate time of two weeks they will be sufficient to begin their next phase of metamorphosis, where they make their chrysalis and during 10 days they will be modifying their body to finish the transformation, and to leave the chrysalis turned into a monarch, their life is marked by the seasons of the year, if they are born between spring and summer, they will last about 2 weeks, if they are born between summer and beginning of autumn they can arrive to live about 8 months, being these last ones the ones that make the migratory flight from Canada to Mexico.

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Massive migration of monarch butterflies

North American monarch butterflies born in late summer are those that make a massive migration from Canada to central Mexico or California. The distance is more than 5,000 kilometers. They do this to escape the winter, so each fall they set out on their journey and return the following spring.

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Migration of monarch butterflies

There are two routes that follow the monarch butterflies, one of them goes from southern Canada to central Mexico where 90% of all butterflies participate and the other 10% participates in the second route that goes from southern Canada to the coast of California in the United States.

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They use the sun as a guide, measure intensity, and its position, but in itself in migratory animals is always an enigma as its natural compass works. But they are believed to be looking for warmer climates.

Other places where we can get monarch butterflies: all of northern South America (Venezuela and Colombia) and southern Florida. They have also been introduced in recent years in Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and Spain.

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Thank you for reading

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