Monarch Butterfly getting ready for the trip to Mexico

I took this photo of the Monarch Butterfly last fall just before all the Monarchs make their journey to Mexico. Each spring the monarch butterfly migrates from Mexico north to parts of the United States and in the Fall, they make the trip back to Mexico. I have always found it interesting that the butterflies hatched around the time of the migration live longer than the ones born in the middle of the two migrations. This is similar to how honey bees can have a life span of only a week or two during the summer and then have a life span of several months during the winter when they are hibernating in their hive. Seems like a raw deal to the butterflies and bees stuck with the shorter life spans!