John & Kathy Youngblood's Monarch Butterfly Trip in Mexico

By: John & Kathy Youngblood

Every fall, hundreds of millions of Monarch Butterflies, head south to take refuge and overwinter in the Mexican state of Michoacan.

Wow….what a trip!

Following is a description of our trip to the Monarch Butterflies and the area surrounding Morelia, in central Mexico. We booked this trip through Rocamar Tours, a Canadian tour company run by Paul and Warna Justice. We did the butterfly and cultural tour. This is the fourth year they have been doing these tours and they have all the logistics details nailed down. We would highly recommend this tour to anyone. The food and accommodations were average to excellent. But, most of all, Paul and Warna know their Mexican history and we were treated and educated with a wealth of Mexican history and tidbits!!

The cathedral at Morelia is lit with a fireworks show every Saturday night.

We started the tour by traveling by bus from Ixtapa to Morelia. We stayed in a newly renovated Hotel de la Soledad, a block from the main town square. On every Saturday night, they have the lighting of the Cathedral, built in the 16th century. The town square goes for several blocks and was filled with various artisans and musicians. We were treated to native Indian song, African music and dance, local jazz, and a delightful “old man” dance. Then at 9:00 pm the Cathedral was lit, complete with fireworks and music:

The Paricutin Volcano leveled two villages but spared the altar in the village church.

The tour stated in earnest the next day, Sunday. We traveled to the Paricutin volcano (1943 - 1952), where the eruption started suddenly in a farm field, building two mountains, literally almost over night, and the lava flowed for 9 years, leveling two villages and partially covering a church. Miraculously, the church altar was spared, and the people took this as a positive sign, and still bring flowers and gifts to the altar to this day. It was quite fun jumping around on all the lava fields and exploring what was left of the church.

The next day had us in Uruapan visiting a textile manufacturing plant started in 1896, where raw cotton fibers are made into thread, hand dyed and then woven on hand operated looms. Wow….neither of us had a clue how cotton thread and textiles were made. On the way to Patzcuaro for some power shopping, we stopped at the Tingambato ruins, 600-900 A.D, built by some ancient civilization (before the Tarascan Indians).

The next day we started by visiting Santa Clara del Cobre, where we watched a demonstration by craftsman using methods handed down from past generations, turn scrap copper wire into beautiful copper pots, trays and jewelry. It is an amazingly physical process, and the pieces turned out were quite beautiful. We took a turn at hammering the copper, but Kathy and I were not hired, in spite of our enthusiasm!! (Note also that the guys recognized a princess when they saw one – thought we’d never get the copper tiara off of her head!!)

The "Princess" shows off her copper tiara!.

That afternoon we visited Jose Luis Alvarez who is instrumental in the reforestation on the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuaries and surrounding mountains. He has developed some world class sponsors to assist in his efforts to negate the legal and illegal logging that is threatening the Monarch Butterfly habitat. Quite an interesting guy and a gracious host……he treated us to lunch at his hacienda.

On Wednesday we toured the colonial city of Morelia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We saw cathedrals, government buildings, convents, all in 16th century architecture…..wow, some history and a gorgeous city!!

A closeup showing thousands of butterflies!
Pods of Monarch butterflies nearly encase this tree.

On Thursday and Friday we toured two Monarch butterfly sanctuaries. There were four open this season. On Thursday we went to El Chincua and on Friday we went to Sierra Pelon in Macheras. Every fall, hundreds of millions of Monarch Butterflies, from East of the Rocky Mountains head south from Canada and the United States to take refuge and overwinter in the Mexican state of Michoacan. The mountains in this state are covered with coniferous forests consisting mainly of pines and Oyamel firs. The butterfly season starts in December and ends in April. The peak population is in February-March, as the butterflies prepare for their journey north. The monarch butterfly migration is an amazing feat; an annual exhausting journey, covering more than 3,000 miles. Once the Monarchs reach their destination, they can literally cover the trees with their orange and black wings for the next six months. They rest and recharge in preparation for their migration back north in the spring.

Monarchs transition from caterpillar to butterfly inside a chrysalis like this one.

Monarchs go through four separate life stages. They begin as an egg, hatch as a larva or caterpillar, become pupa (chrysalis), and mature into adult butterflies. The eggs hatch in small batches of five to ten, depending on the ambient temperature. The caterpillars devour their eggshells and begin the quest for food, feeding exclusively on the milkweed family. Each time they outgrow their exterior skin (called a cuticle), they molt, eat the skin, and continue growing. After four cycles of molting, they attach themselves to the underside of a leaf and form a delicate and beautiful chrysalis. Inside the chrysalis, a developing butterfly matures for several weeks. When it's time to break loose, the insect pushes its legs downward, splits the chrysalis and sets itself free. The newly hatched butterfly pumps the fluid concentrated in its body into its wings, which then harden, allowing it to fly.

The butterflies then begin a migration north to spend their summers in Canada and the United States.

Migratory butterflies average 90 to 125 miles of flight per day on their 1-2 month journey.

They mate several times and live from two to six weeks. Then, new, non-reproductive butterflies hatch. The reproductive butterflies remain in the north, and the migratory ones head south, averaging 150 to 200 kilometers (90 to 125 miles) a day. Their life span is considerably longer-- 9 months longer-- than their counterparts'. The trip takes 1-2 month, two if winds or rain slow the butterflies' journey. This is considered one of the longest, greatest migrations in the natural world. Why the butterflies, several generations removed from the ancestors that once wintered in the valley, migrate to the same place is a mystery. It has been suggested that regional magnetism stemming from nearby mountains (remember, this is a former mining town) emits what in essence is a homing beacon for the monarchs, but no one really knows for sure.

This was a magical trip for us--one we will remember the rest of our lives!

What a wonderful and magical experience it was being amongst millions of these gentle and amazing creatures! They were literally everywhere, including on us. Note the “pods” of butterflies, packed tightly together on the trees….as the sun would hit them and warm them up they would open their wings and take to flight on mass. It’s impossible to convey in words and pictures what this was like……it was…well, mystical, and something we will remember for the rest of our lives!!

 

Editor's Note: If you'd like to see more photos of the Youngblood's Monarch Butterfly trip, visit their photo gallery in the Gallery section of the site. (You must be a registered user on the site to enter the Gallery section. If you're not a registered user and logged in, the Gallery link above will simply take you to the home page, where you can login or create an account.)

 
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