March 27, 2015 (Friday)
The PBS series, NOVA, recently repeated its program, “The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies,” a special presentation about Monarch butterflies. Around this time of year, we in Texas are treated to a first row seat to view a portion of the life cycle of this unique creature.
Only 5% of each Monarch generation will survive. The rest will be victims of parasites and predators. Some say the survival rate is only 2%.
When the butterflies make their first spring appearance here in Rockport, they are on their way north, after having spent the winter in Mexico. Each female lays eggs on the underside of milkweed leaves. The egg hatches in 3-5 days and changes into a caterpillar which sheds its skin several times before becoming enclosed in a chrysalis. The final emergence is a beautiful Monarch butterfly. The original butterflies who made it to Texas die after 2-6 weeks, and the new generation takes its place in a mass migration to the northern USA, where the entire process is repeated and another generation flies to Canada, where the sequence takes place again, producing a new generation. But this generation is different. This one will fly all together 2000 miles to Mexico and live 9 months instead of 2-6 weeks. Their destination is a remote mountain spot where they will huddle together like huge clusters of grapes, awaiting spring.
There is nothing like it elsewhere in nature. The entire cycle takes about a year to complete, and it is repeated year after year. You and I get to know about it, and if we’re fortunate (and observant) we’ll get to see it. This truly is a “wonderful world.”