Research and Conservation: Wings Reveal Origins

Using wings collected at the sanctuaries, researchers discovered where overwintering butterflies in Mexico originated. Their map shows the proportion of butterflies from six breeding regions in the U.S. and Canada. Lead author Tyler Flockhart was surprised by the findings:

"We expected the vast majority of monarch butterflies to be found in the Midwestern states. However, just 38 per cent come from that part of the U.S.A. If we just focus conservation activities on that area, our research shows we will be missing a large number of butterflies born elsewhere in North America."