Monarch Butterfly On Wild Goldenrod Flowers At Chimney Bluffs State Park During Migration Stock Photo

With their bright orange-and-black wings, monarch butterflies are some of the most recognizable and beautiful butterflies in America. Some Eastern monarchs spend their whole lives in the northern U.S. and Canada, enjoying the warm summer weather. But those that emerge from their chrysalis in the late summer or fall know that they can’t survive the colder temperatures to come. These late-summer monarchs are the ones that embark on an epic trek. Some fly for nearly 3000 miles to make it all the way down to the warm mountains of central Mexico.