may-2010

TRAVEL MEXICO
of leaves in an autumn wind. Their wings, fl uttering
together, make an almost imperceptible rustle – scientists call
it a ‘susurrus’ – like a distant waterfall or falling snow.
As the Monarchs swirl through clearings, pouring down the
mountain paths in search of their daily moisture, visitors are
enveloped in a kaleidoscope of orange. Sometimes the
butterfl ies, seeking body warmth, will settle on people’s
clothes, dressing them in a fabulous fabric of living gossamer,
adorning their fi ngers with extravagant but weightless rings.
“The Aztecs called them ‘Eternal Sun Dancers’,” says Luis.
“That’s how they make you feel – like dancing. I never tire of
seeing people’s expressions when they come here. It’s like
watching the sun come out on their faces.”
Until recently, no one knew where the butterfl ies came
from. But by March 21, the spring equinox – another sacred
day for the Purepecha – they all disappear again, fl ooding the
streets of nearby villages in a fi nal goodbye before heading
north. An extensive tagging programme in the 1970s fi nally
solved the riddle but its fi ndings were startling. The Monarchs
come from the furthest reaches of North America, some from
as far north as the Great Lakes in Canada – over 4,500
kilometres away. They endure two months of starvation and
exhaustion, negotiating highways and cities, mountains, rivers
and deserts, battling rain and wind and blazing heat. How and
why they do this, however, remains one of nature’s most
enduring and wonderful mysteries.
38 Holland Herald FREE
“Millions of tiny bodies stir,
lifting into the air like
tornados of leaves in an
autumn wind”
All afl utter
Scientists believe the Monarch
migration has been happening
for some 40 million years. The
enormous distances the
butterfl ies travel may be a
result of the lengthening of the
North American continent over
this time. They travel at around
10 kph, but can cover over 300
kilometres in a day with
prevailing winds.
Monarchs begin mating in
February, towards the end of
hibernation, but only the
females ever leave Michoacán.
The males die after mating, and
their bodies litter the forest
fl oor like fallen leaves.
The pregnant females fl y
north in March and lay their
eggs somewhere in northern
Mexico or Texas, where they
also die, leaving it to the next
generation to continue the
arduous fl ight north. Three
months later, this second
generation will also lay its eggs
and die. Only their offspring,
the third generation, will make
it to Canada. It is the fourth
generation that makes the epic
journey back to Mexico,
somehow doubling its natural
lifespan to eight months –
making it the longest living
butterfl y in the world – in order
to make the journey in one go,
fl ying back to a place that only
its great-grandparents have
ever been. The distance –
around 5,000 kilometres – is
about the equivalent of a
human making two return
journeys to the sun.