Flight of the monarchs

Sat, Aug 15, 2009

A swarm of monarch butterflies

Butterflies fill the sky like clouds of orange ash, pouring over the valley in the thousands. The sun emerges and momentarily illuminates their wings before retreating back into the clouds. The spectacle waxes and wanes, never exhausting itself. Further away, the path curves and descends to the edge of the forest. Beyond it, many millions more butterflies occupy the earth, the air and the vegetation.

Each year, around 100 million Monarch butterflies undertake a migratory journey that spans two thousand miles. Their phenomenal voyage commences in southeast Canada, the monarchs’ summer habitat, and reaches as far as their over-wintering homes in the Oyamel forests of the Sierra Madre Oriental in central Mexico. The remarkable El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Reserve, Mexico’s only public monarch sanctuary, lies in the state of Michoacán and is accessed from the town of Angangueo.

It is a steep climb from Angangueo into the mountains, up to the sanctuary gates. The view from the approach is hypnotic and the sights in the forest itself are surreal and intoxicating. Butterflies absorb it completely. They coat the fir trees in vast, fiery bunches, weighing down the branches in their numbers.

A deep, flaming orange carpet covers the ground. Occasionally, sunlight breaks through and warms a cluster. Hundreds take flight with dramatic flurry. Rippling upward, they emit the otherworldly purr that is the sound of countless beating butterfly wings.

The entire monarch migration cycle spans four generations. They breed once on the journey north, twice during the summer in Canada, then once more on the journey south. Those that arrive in Mexico are the great-grandchildren of those that came the preceding year.

Their arrival in early November also coincides with the world famous Day of the Dead celebration, an important occasion in Mexico when the souls of the deceased are said to return to spend time with their families and loved ones. Coincidentally, perhaps, butterflies occupy a special place in indigenous mythology: they are the souls of dead warriors, migrating to the land of the dead.

Sadly, the Monarch butterflies face several kinds of threat and their migration has been declared an endangered phenomenon. Urban sprawl is devastating their summer residences and their over-wintering habitats face destruction by logging. The Monarch caterpillar’s source of food, milkweed, is being steadily eliminated by herbicide from farmers and gardeners.

Finally, climate change poses a threat to the Monarchs. The winter of 2002 was particularly harsh and devastated their populations. If such extreme conditions are an indicator of future patterns, the Monarch butterflies will undoubtedly cease their migration to Mexico.

Observing the Monarchs and their ethereal manner, their weightless and entrancing navigation, it is easy to imagine they have transcendental characteristics. More than this, they are undeniable symbols of transformation and journey, of life and death, of cyclical progressions and of mystery. Watching their flight, it is easy to imagine how these remarkable animals may indeed have otherworldly connections, how they could very well be ancient spirits in transit.

This article was first published by Viva Travel Guides