Where does a monarch butterfly go in winter?

Answer 1

The monarch butterfly migrates south by flying. It flaps its wings. Something in its brain is hardwired to the location it must go and the directions it must follow.

Monarch Butterfly larva must grow on milkweed. Other insects know where to lay their eggs so their young will grow on the proper food source. Aphids lay their eggs on maple trees. Milkweed will grow on land that was cleared during a winter storm. So, a Monarch would need to return from its winter quarters to a freshly cleared area of ground where Milkweed would sprout.

Monarchs then needed to spend the winter in a place where the temperatures were such that they could survive. They would not freeze, but their temperature would be low enough they would not use up all their food resources.

Then we can assume the ancestors of today's Monarchs began in the valleys of Mexico eating milkweed and other plants. Some ate more milkweed and flew to the top of the mountain and survived the winter. In spring they flew down to a milkweed patch and laid their eggs. Any birds that ate a milkweed fed caterpillar never ate another one. Some of those caterpillars turned into Monarchs that spent winter on the mountain. The process repeated. Soon Monarchs arose that ate only milkweed. They returned to the same mountain.

Any Monarch Butterflies that did not return to that ideal location for the winter either froze to death or used up all their food storage before they found another patch of milkweed where they could lay their eggs.

So today, Monarch Butterflies return to the ancestral location for the winter. In spring the males breed with the females and then the males die. The females find a new patch of milkweed, lay their eggs, and die. The new caterpillars will turn into monarchs that will fly north to find new patches of milkweed, breed, lay eggs, and die. Just before winter comes, the milkweed will die. The living monarchs will either return to their ancestral home where they can survive the winter or they will die without breeding.

Answer 2

They Migrate for the winter.

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They go to mexico, Southern California. Read the life cycle in the link.

Answer 3

Mexico

Answer 4

Mexico