Monarch Butterfly Wonderment
An adult monarch butterfly weighs less than a gram yet has one of the most incredible migrations of any animal. Monarchs, whose life span is normally only four to six weeks, spend their summers in Canada and the northern part of the USA. Then, for reasons that no one understands, a fifth or sixth generation monarch will decide to make the 3000-mile trip from its home to a pine forest in the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. On this journey, the monarchs feed on plant nectar and the milkweed plant that makes them poisonous to their predators.
Although this migration has been going on for thousands of years, it was not known to the outside world until 1975 when it was discovered and publicized by a Mexican entomologist. Just one year after the monarch migration was discovered, Betty and I were on an auto trip through Mexico and stopped in Morelia to visit the furniture plant we had invested in. As we were getting ready to start our drive south to Mexico City, we read about the discovery of the monarch migration in the local English-language paper. Fascinated, we decided to see this phenomenon for ourselves. Arriving at Angangueo, the closest city to the pine forest where the butterflies go for the winter, we learned that there were no paved roads to the sanctuary. The only way to get there was to buy a ride in a pickup truck. After some typical Mexican negotiations, this was arranged, and we found ourselves standing with eight Mexicans in the bed of the truck as we jostled over a deeply rutted dirt road.
About half a mile from the pine forest, we began to see monarch butterflies along the roadside, growing ever more numerous as we approached the forest. At the edge of the forest the air was literally filled with beautiful yellow and black monarchs, and as we entered the pine forest, there were so many of the tiny monarchs hanging from the limbs of the trees that the branches were bending over from their weight. The ground was literally covered with butterflies so you could not walk down the path without stepping on thousands of them. A single monarch flies in silence, but when a thousand are flying together it sounds like the beating of a muted drum. The spectacle was truly like nothing we'd ever seen!
We had the opportunity to make a return visit in 1979 and what a difference. There was a paved road right to the edge of the forest and a visitor center offering guided tours and selling souvenirs. The monarchs were just as spectacular as they had been on our first visit, but the paths were more defined and there were, of course, rules. But the sight was equally spectacular.
Our third and final visit was two years later. Several friends were visiting us at our home in Puerto Vallarta. Somehow the subject of the butterflies came up, we shared our pictures, and the pressure was on to make a return visit! At that time, I had a small airplane and a great pilot, Charlie Parker. Although Charlie has lived in Mexico most of his life and was married to a Mexican, he had never seen the butterflies so nothing would have it, but that Charlie would fly four of us to see the phenomenon. We landed in a different city and hired a cab for the 30-minute drive to the pine forest. This time we did not start at the visitor center but at the bottom of a rather long, steep hill that led to the forest. I guess we were sneaking in the back door. Our friends thought it was spectacular, but we knew different. The clusters of butterflies were not as dense and there were fewer in the air and on the ground. Perhaps we had come too early in the migration but the trip, while exciting for our friends, was a real disappointment for us. And now that I have lost my sight, that is one experience I will never have again.
Postscript: On February 10, 2020, two men were killed near the sanctuary. It is believed they were murdered because they were involved in protecting the sanctuary from cartels who wanted to log the valuable trees.