Migration

All over the world the Monarch Butterfly soars in the air in the warm climate. When the cold weather comes in the Monarch Butterfly knows it is time to migrate. The Monarch Butterfly cannot survive in the cold winter. Each autumn millions of Monarch Butterflies travel over 2,900 kilometers from south Canada to places with warm climates such as Mexico. But last year there was a major decrease in the population of the Monarch Butterflies that migrate to Mexico from the United States and Canada . Fewer than twenty-three million Monarch Butterflies did not make it to Mexico in time.

There were less than 75% of Monarch Butterflies in Mexico. Fortunately the Monarch Butterflies in Vietnam don't have to move. Vietnam is a tropical country with warm weather all year round. The problem is that there are still not a lot of Monarch Butterflies in Vietnam. During the Vietnam War in November, 1946 many Monarch Butterflies were affected by all the chemicals and fumes that were used during the war. Many of the Monarchs got sick and died. The population of the Monarchs in Vietnam began to quickly decrease and continue to decrease today. Many chemicals used in the war are still there on many plants these butterflies eat.

On the map below you can see that the butterfly population is very small in many of the areas. When the Vietnam War took place there were many animals living in the wild. The chemicals used during this war got into the soil and plants. When the butterflies ate the plants they became ill. The North American Monarchs struggle through the windy weather to get to places with warmer climates but sometimes the weather is very cold and brisk and the Monarchs do not make it in time. Specialists from National Geographic count the amount of Monarchs every year and it has been decreasing more than 10% each year. Mexico, one of the cities known for Monarch migration has noticed that their Monarch population is slowly decreasing and their behavior has changed a bit. Many are also noticing that the population of Monarchs that migrate from fall are most likely to die but the Monarchs that migrate from spring and summer have a better chance to live through their journey. To help these Monarchs, learn more by visiting our Get Involved page. For more news on Monarch migration visit the Journey North site (http://www.learner.org/jnorth/monarch/News.html.) Click the following link to watch a video of The Long Journey Home.

This picture shows the places where monarchs fly to from the United States and Canda to Mexico.