Pacific Grove, California is famous for its Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary. Monarch butterflies are classified as tropical insects, and are one of many migrating species. Butterflies east of the Rocky Mountains migrate to Mexico for the winetr, and those to the west seek out the favorable climate of the Central Coast with its protective eucalyptus and pines.
Don’t mistake these little critters as fragile; they fly at heights up to 10,000 feet and can cover 100 miles in a day. Even more impressive is how they do it: they fly to the same spot without ever having done it before; other migrating animals like whales and birds, have made repeat trips. Theories about this point to the sun’s position in the sky, or maybe a magnetic energy field.
February is when the Monarchs take flight to travel north and east, laying eggs in milkweed plants.
More about the Monarch Grove Sanctuary courtesy of
