Protecting Pollinators: Where do monarch butterflies go during winter?

For several years KDOT has been taking great strides to protect our pollinators. Last spring, in cooperation with the Monarch Highway Project, KDOT crews planted 23 varieties of wildflowers that enhance our roadsides and provide beneficial nectar sources for pollinators such as bees, beetles, moths and of course, butterflies.

Providing a habitat full of wildflowers and milkweed for monarch butterflies is significant step we can take to protect these important insects and animals.

The Monarch Highway Project consists of other state DOTs, organizations, private entities and local agencies that work together to protect bees and monarch butterfly populations that are declining.

The Monarch Highway, or a path that monarch butterflies seem to take when they migrate to Mexico, runs through the I-35 corridor and the butterflies pass through several states including, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

Have you ever wondered why and how these amazing insects migrate?

The annual migration of North America’s monarch butterfly is a unique and amazing phenomenon. The monarch is the only butterfly known to make a two-way migration as birds do. Unlike other butterflies that can overwinter as larvae, pupae, or even as adults in some species, monarchs cannot survive the cold winters of northern climates. Using environmental cues, the monarchs know when it is time to travel south for the winter. Monarchs use a combination of air currents and thermals to travel long distances. Some fly as far as 3,000 miles to reach their winter home!

Monarchs can travel between 50-100 miles a day; it can take up to two months to complete their journey. The farthest ranging monarch butterfly recorded traveled 265 miles in one day. It is crucial to the survival of the monarch butterfly to have pollinator habitat to feed on as they travel southward. A wide variety of fall blooming nectar sources on our roadsides provides the food source necessary for the monarch to successfully complete the journey.

Directional Aides:

Researchers are still investigating what directional aids monarchs use to find their overwintering location. It appears to be a combination of things, such as the magnetic pull of the earth and the position of the sun..

Overwintering in Mexico
Monarchs roost for the winter in oyamel fir forests at an elevation nearly 2 miles above sea level. The mountain hillsides of oyamel forest provide an ideal microclimate for the butterflies. Here temperatures range from 32 to 59 degrees Fahrenheit. If the temperature is lower, the monarchs will be forced to use their fat reserves. The humidity in the oyamel forest assures the monarchs won’t dry out allowing them to conserve their energy.

As the winter ends and the days grow longer, the monarchs become more active and begin a 3-5 week period of intense mating activity. In Mexico, they begin to leave their roosts during the middle of March, flying north and east looking for milkweed plants on which to lay their eggs.

For more information on what KDOT is doing to protect these pollinators check out http://pollinatorpartners.ksdot.org/.