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Video: Monarch Butterfly Migration, Seen from Space

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Migrant monarch butterflies tanking up on nectar as they move south.
Migrant monarch butterflies tanking up on nectar as they move south. (Image credit: Monarch Watch)

If you've ever wondered how monarch butterflies migrate, wonder no longer. This excellent video shows the amazing migration of the animal throughout North America. It starts (or ends) in the mountains of Mexico's Michoacán province, one of the places where monarchs breed before flying north. Over multiple generations they make it as far as Canada, before returning once more to the south.

The video produced by the Encyclopedia of Life highlights efforts to tag and conserve the animals. Some monarchs tagged in New Jersey have made it as far as Mexico.

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Douglas Main
Douglas Main
Douglas Main loves the weird and wonderful world of science, digging into amazing Planet Earth discoveries and wacky animal findings (from marsupials mating themselves to death to zombie worms to tear-drinking butterflies) for Live Science. Follow Doug on Google+.