What is the monarch butterfly?
Q: What is the monarch butterfly?
A: The monarch butterfly is an insect in the Nymphalidae family and is the best-known butterfly in North America.
Q: What are monarch butterflies known for?
A: Monarchs are known for their long annual migrations.
Q: When do monarch butterflies start to migrate south?
A: Monarchs begin to migrate south in about August.
Q: Why do monarch butterflies migrate south?
A: Monarchs migrate south to get to frost-free areas because freezing will kill them.
Q: When does the migration toward the north start?
A: The migration toward the north starts in the spring.
Q: How many generations is the monarch butterfly migration north across?
A: The monarch butterfly migration north span the life of three to four generations of the butterfly.
Q: What happens during the southward migration and northward return of monarch butterflies?
A: The monarch is famous for its southward migration and northward return in summer. A longer-lived "super generation" flies from the northern-most parts of the butterfly's range in Canada all the way to Mexico. It overwinters in the south, and breeds in the spring to start the next generation flying north.
