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   Tapir (tepid_tapir@poa.st)'s status on Thursday, 06-Feb-2025 01:29:25 JST Tapir

   The Western Monarch Butterfly had stumped entomologists for ages.

   First researched in 1850's, it wasn't until the 1930's that it was confirmed these butterflies did in fact migrate across the states from southern Canada to the south. However it wasn't until 1975, after 40 years of pursuing monarch migration, that it was discovered by Dr. Fred Urquhart roughly where the butterflies migrate to - Mainly California and Mexico, but some populations retire to Texas and Florida.

   Another long sought after mystery was just how they migrated. For a while it was believed that the monarch lifespan was a deal longer than it actually is to compensate for the migration; up to a year or more. However now we understand that it takes around 4 generations for these butterflies to reach Canada and the northern US, and somehow manages to live up to 9 months for the migration back down south - a process that is still a head scratcher for today's entomologists.

   That brings up an even bigger question though; If they aren't taught, how do they know where to go?

   Only in the 2010's did we discover that they use the sun and polarized light to instinctively tell them their migration route.

   However the Monarch's story doesn't end there; they may have an internal compass as well that we are discovering, and multiple possible navigational genes yet to be studied.

   They are considered an excellent model organism for the study of the molecular and neural basis of long-distance migration.