All Flights Cross Through Texas
Monarchs moving down from northern latitudes are all bound for Texas. Texas is the only state on the migration pathway that all monarchs must cross. In Texas, the migration narrows and becomes more concentrated before it enters Mexico
"Before crossing into Mexico, the butterflies move through Texas on a pathway that angles slightly to the southwest," says Dr. Bill Calvert. "It does not move straight south. The center of this central pathway could be considered to move down from Wichita Falls, to Abilene, San Angelo, and then to Del Rio, Texas.
Two Flyways in Texas: The Central and Coastal Flyways Courtesy of Texas Monarch Watch
“Of course, the pathway is different from year to year, just as you can never really consider weather to be 'typical,'” he added.
"At the latitude of the southern tip of Texas, the monarchs' flight path is only about 8% as wide as it was when they started from their breeding grounds in the north."
In other words, the monarchs are 12 times more concentrated as move through Texas. The state of Texas is like a funnel through which the monarchs pour. No wonder the migration can be such a spectacle in Texas.
Here is one example where the observer saw 6,000 monarchs per hour!
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