Can a Monarch Butterfly Fly Across the Atlantic Ocean? Here is how Mrs. Koch's 5th grade class from Barnesville, Ohio, thought about the question: Hypotheses: 1. The "accidental tourist" -- The butterfly was carried (as an adult, larva, or pupa) by ship or plane to England. Perhaps it was carried in cargo or by a careless tourist. Cargo (Maybe wood or a tree)exported to England could inadvertently include some form of monarch. 2. The butterfly could have been blown off course. The students saw four possibilities. First, the monarchs could have been carried by winds across the southern Atlantic -- perhaps across from the Carolinas, Georgia, or Florida. They might have been carried by winds across the northern Atlantic via Greenland, Iceland, etc. Global warming might have made this possible for them. Students hypothesized that climatic change may have caused a butterfly to fly to England from Spain -- a new adaptation. Some students thought that the butterfly may have even crossed the Beiring Strait and Asia to arrive in England (Quite a trip!) 3. There may be a "patch" of milkweed growing in England that is unknown to scientists. This could have been accidentally imported and would enable monarch populations to live there. 4. The butterfly may have come from Spain, via a car, through the chunnel. 5. The Escapee: Someone may have had a monarch, either as a pet or an experiment, and it escaped. ( Wouldn't it be fun to have a butterfly fly out or your suitcase? ;-) Copyright 2006 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form.