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We’re Moving! The Monarch Butterfly Migration

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There’s a beautiful event coming this winter which everyone should be on the lookout for! To all you nature lovers and photographers out there, go and get your cameras ready—you’ll want to get a few shots of  one of the most spectacular natural phenomenon in the world!

You better book a ticket to United States right now if you want to see this for yourself as the Monarch Butterfly’s population is dwindling down. In 2013, the population was recorded at its lowest in 20 years. It is speculated that one of the reasons why the numbers are going down is due to the reduced growth of milkweed in North America. These butterflies rely on milkweed as their habitat and their food. One reason for the reduced growth is due to climate change and the escalated use of herbicides.

For sure you wouldn’t want to use pest control on these beautiful flying wonders. Rest assured, you will definitely enjoy witnessing this annual occasion.

The Migration Pattern

A migration this vast is more likely to be seen in birds, crabs or whales rather than insects, proving yet again that the monarch butterfly’s migration is truly one of a kind. No other butterfly species is known to travel such a long distance. Their migration is often called the most evolved migration pattern of the order Lepidoptera or any insect for that matter. They do not travel alone but travel in masses, sometimes numbering in thousands. Just imagine— a swarm of butterflies flying over your heads! There are other butterflies and moths flying far in groups but this is a one-way trip to seek food and the behavioral trait for insects is called emigration.

The Season

The migration  of the Monarch butterflies occurs in September and October. This is most likely due to the butterflies not being able to withstand cold and freezing winter in the northern portions  of the United States.  Add to that are the larval food plants not being able to survive in winter season. And with  -ber months around, you can expect these butterflies flying away to a warm and more accommodating areas,Mexico and Southern California, where there are bound to have plants aplenty.

The Distance

It is actually amazing how the journey of the migration starts and how the monarchs flew from North America to the forests of Mexico and Southern California. If you consider the distance,that is over two thousand miles worth of travel by air these delicate winged-creatures will storm the weather to get from point A to point B. If that is not astonishing enough, they fly without properly knowing the specific location and relying only on pure instinct! It’s one of nature’s unsolved mysteries yet to be discovered as to how these Monarch butterflies find their way to and fro.

The Return

Of course all great things must come to an end and eventually, some of the Monarch butterflies will fly back to the northern  US. They will only return once the warm temperature and lengthening days arrive.  This is a signal to the butterflies that it is the breeding season. The female monarchs’ responsibility is to lay eggs for the next generation of migratory butterflies. These Monarch butterflies will venture back in March and the estimated arrival will be around July.

The migration of these beautiful Monarch Butterflies  is considered to be in the top ten of the most amazing migration in the planet and after seeing all the effort they all take to travel; it shouldn’t be no surprise at all!

 

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The Most Beautiful Butterflies Found in the Philippines

“Love is like a butterfly. The more you chase it, the more it will elude you; but if you turn your attention towards other things, it will sit on your shoulder when you least expect it.” 

The anonymous writer of this quote made it sound so magical when he/she put ‘love’ and ‘butterfly’ in one sentence. There is that beautiful elation that comes with it when a butterfly is associated with such a strong emotion. Even termite control experts agree that butterflies are among the most beautiful creatures to inhabit Earth and here in the Philippines, we are lucky to have good species of these around us.

Most of us aren’t familiar with how they look like or where exactly they live, but we’re interested nonetheless. This article will serve as your guide to the most common yet beautiful species of butterflies that live in our country. Join us as we explore the wonderful world of butterflies—well, at least here in the Philippines!

LARGE GRASS YELLOW / COMMON GRASS YELLOW BUTTERFLY

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This species (Eurema hecabe) can also be found in other parts of Asia, Africa, South Pacific Islands, and Australia. They are small to medium in size and are bright lemon yellow in color. They have black markings or spots on the edges of their wings. Grass Yellow butterflies adapt different forms depending on the season or time of the year.

GAIKA BLUE

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The Gaika Blue (Zizula hylax) is more commonly known as the Tiny Grass Blue. This butterfly has a faint blue to light violet tint to its wings, hence its name. The wing span of an adult Gaika Blue is about 1.5 centimeters. Aside from the Philippines, they can also be found in tropical and sub-tropical Africa, other parts of Asia, and Oceania.

RED LACEWING BUTTERFLY

 

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The Red Lacewing butterfly (Cethosia biblis) belongs to the heliconiine subfamily. Its wing span is 8-9 centimeters. These wings are intensely colored—they’re orange-red and dotted with black. The purpose of this is to disguise the shape of the butterfly and protect it from its enemies. Red Lacewing caterpillars are also intricately colored, but are poisonous.

APEFLY BUTTERFLY

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The Apefly butterfly (Spalgis epius) is known for its face that resembles that of an ape during its morphing/caterpillar stage. It is a small butterfly with a wing span of only 10-14 millimeters. It flies fast and they are often difficult to catch because of their speed.

GOLDEN-TAILED HAIRSTREAK BUTTERFLY

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The Golden-Tailed Hairstreak butterfly (Cheritra orpheus orpheus) has bright orange-colored wings and a distinctive black and white tail at the end of its body. This tail is long and becomes more noticeable when the insect flies. It is a rare member of the hairstreak species but can be found in various parts of the Philippines such as in Baguio City in Benguet.

These are just some of the species of butterflies that can be found locally. However, because of their beauty and rarity, some of them are in danger of becoming extinct due to human activity and destruction of their natural habitat. We should do our best to prolong the lives of these exceptional insects so other generations would have the chance to see how beautiful they are. But nevertheless, we hope this article made the butterflies flutter in your stomach!