Monarchs: The Methuselah Generation

After the gorgeous display of monarchs that I saw at the Arboretum around mid-day on Tuesday, I'll give you two guesses as to where I went on Wednesday. Yes, this girl's addicted to butterflies! So of course, I went right back to the Arboretum's pollinator garden for another look!

It was not quite the embarrassment of riches that I'd seen the day before. Instead of a dozen, this time I saw just a few. The one in this shot is a female; she does not have any of the little dark spots on the lower wings that a male would have, and her webbing is thicker.

Butterflies weren't the only thing on the entertainment agenda. I was treated to another special show while in the Arboretum. A young goldfinch was doing the little "feed-me" dance that I hear and see so frequently in the gardens this time of year. It perched at the very top of the row of trees in front of me, and there it began its dance. You may see some of its most crazy, crowd-pleasing steps in the extras. :-)

I wonder sometimes about the creatures we enjoy who migrate. I've talked a lot about our hummingbirds, who travel long distances and migrate south this time of year individually; that is, they do not go as a group.

But monarchs are known to migrate in groups, and they all arrive in Mexico for a great big butterfly party that may be as many as 60 million to a billion strong. The generation of monarchs that undertakes this journey is very special; these butterflies live much longer than the regular monarchs:

"When summer is over and temperatures drop drastically, a special generation of monarch butterflies is born; this new group will have to assume the titanic mission of traveling to Mexico, to warmer latitudes so they can hibernate, feed, mate, and then travel back home.

This different kind of monarch is known as the Methuselah generation. Unlike its ancestors who had only ephemeral lives of five weeks tops, these migratory monarchs will have longer existences that will last up to eight months, so they can successfully carry out their objective of reaching the oyamel fir forests." (More here.)

Now, I have no way of knowing if this particular monarch in the photo is a member of this special group. But it's the right time of year for it. And so it could be! That would mean that this lovely orange lady may expect to enjoy a long life, and she has an amazing journey ahead! Safe travels, my friend!

The soundtrack has to be a song about traveling to a great big party. So here is Canned Heat, from Woodstock, with Going Up the Country. Although technically, the butterflies are heading SOUTH, which is to say, DOWN the country. But hey. You know what I mean. :-)

P.S. I posted TWO blips today to catch up, and both of them feature monarch butterflies! Here is a link to the other one.