How Do Monarchs Find Mexico?

Every fall, monarchs march down the map toward their winter home in Mexico. But how do they know which way to fly? Think about the problem for a minute: Monarchs must fly in different directions to reach the same place. For example, a monarch in North Dakota can fly straight south but one in Maine must travel south and west. Click on the map to the right. Consider what would happen if monarchs everywhere flew directly south! (Where would a monarch from your state or province end up?) "The means by which monarchs navigate has mystified monarch researchers for over half a century and it remains one of the most intriguing questions of monarch biology," says monarch scientist Dr. Bill Calvert. Flying in different directions to reach the same place.

How Do They Do It? Discover What Scientists Say How DO monarchs orient and navigate to a small point on the globe--to a place they've never been before? Scientists don't fully understand the mechanisms involved. Read the excerpts at the link below and have students list factors scientists believe (or once believed) are involved. Next, ask students to list questions they still have. See: What Scientists Say About the Navigation Puzzle

National Science Education Standards Employ simple equipment/tools to gather data and extend senses. (K-4) Use appropriate tools and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret data. (5-8) Although men and women using scientific inquiry have learned much about the objects, events, and phenomena in nature, much more remains to be understood. Science will never be finished. (K-4) National Geography Standards How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information.