Last weekend I checked an item off my Adventure Wish List, experiencing one of nature’s most mysterious and magical phenomena, visiting the summer sanctuary of hundreds of thousands of Monarch Butterflies.
I also made a short video called Monarch Butterfly Magic you can see it on my youtube channel.
Leaving San Miguel de Allende and driving for about 4 hours high into the western Sierra Madre mountains, we arrive at the Rosalia Sanctuary. Jumping out of the van, the smell of fir trees is strong in the air. The air is so clear, it’s a beautiful sunny day. This is a good sign our guide tells us, as it means the butterflies will be active. At the entrance we rent horses for a 20-minute ride further up the mountain. Not only is it hella-steep and dusty, but every extra peso is needed by the locals reliant on tourists visiting the Monarchs for just five months of the year.
Off the horses, so they don’t damage any of the butterfly habitat, and it’s an easy 10-minute walk into the forest before we start seeing butterflies and it doesn’t take long to be surrounded. There are sooooooo many butterflies gathered together – you can actually HEAR their wings as they opening and closing! Tap a finger into the palm of your other hand and then imagine that sound multiplied by thousands!
I’ve always loved butterflies, particularly because my mum told me part of the reason she chose my name was because it ‘means’ butterfly (there’s a genus called Vanessa). I always think of her when one dances into view. Here in Mexico, it’s believed the Monarch butterflies contain the spirits of the departed because they arrive in Mexico on November the first – Dia de Los Muertos or Day of the Dead.
The Mystery of the Migration
Monarch butterflies are special – I mean not only do they have freaking GOLD on their chrysalises (or chrysalides – says google) BUT even more incredible is the annual migration from Canada to Mexico.
As the days grow shorter in the north, and the temperature begins to drop, a special generation is born of Monarch butterflies is born. A generation with new abilities. A generation with a mission in life. Hormonal changes prevent sexual maturity and the urge to reproduce and give these butterflies ‘Super Butterfly’ abilities enabling them to store energy and fly long distances.
These Super Butterflies, despite weighing less than a gram, will end up flying over 3000 kilometres battling buffeting wind, pelting rain and trying to avoid predators. The trip can take up to 2 months. Monarchs are the only insects to migrate such a vast distance. The normal lifespan of a Monarch is 2-6 weeks, but if they survive their arduous task the Super Butterflies will end up living 6-9 MONTHS! Once they finally get to Mexico the butterflies take a well-deserved break until Spring-Fever hits in March…and they get on with the sexing! After all that effort, the poor males usually die. The fertilized females then begin the journey north stopping in the southern states of the U.S, to lay their eggs then they too, die. The Super Butterflies have completed their mission. The eggs will hatch, the caterpillars will become butterflies and then lay eggs of their own. It will take multiple generations to eventually reach the original starting point in Canada. The butterflies that eventually make it there have never been there before. And it won’t be them, or their offspring, or their offspring’s offspring that will begin the migration cycle back to Mexico.
For years scientists have been baffled by the phenomenon. How do such fragile insects survive such a difficult journey and how do they know where to go? They believe the butterflies have some sort of internal compass that directs them using the sun and the time of the day. But what about the days when it’s not sunny? Even if they can direct themselves, how do they find the exact same trees down to a few square kilometres, when they’ve never been before?
Our small group is undisturbed by other tourists. We walk slowly. Often in silence. standing still ’til the Monarchs fly closer and closer. Looking up into the cloudless sky, they flutter like sunlit orange confetti.
This tour was so worth it and a total bonus was meeting a bunch of awesome people too! If you’re in San Miguel de Allende and want to do this tour, I’d highly recommend Pablo Carrasco of Permacultours. He had a small stand inside Mercado Sano.
The Road Ness Travelled 
I loved your description of the butterflies looking like orange confetti against the blue sky!!
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