Every February a fertility fest begins among the Monarch Butterflies. After they mate, they migrate thousands of miles North. Seven months later, their great grandchildren migrate back to Pismo beach as well as along much of the Pacific coast. How do they know to come back here year after year?
About 20,000 butterflies live at the Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove from October to February. They come here in search of dense foliage. The Eucalyptus trees suffice, although it could be any kind of trees. They then huddle together for warmth and protection.
The monarch butterflies travel over 1,000 miles from as far north as Canada. They come down to the coastal areas of California and you can find their groves everywhere. Pismo Beach, however, has the largest population within the United States. (Monarch butterfly groves in Mexico are bigger.) The State Park has many volunteers who also tell the stories of these winter inhabitants.
In February they know spring is near, so the mating season begins. Males grasp onto any female they can find, latch on and carry her up into a tree where they mate for hours, going on even through the night. Once the male, with his two dots on either side of his wings, feels complete, he drops the female and then searches for another. This fertility fest lasts until the females begin to leave -- and the migration begins.
If the female is to lay her eggs, she needs to find milkweed and that only grows in the north. Once she finds the toxic plant, the female monarch butterfly lays two hundred to four hundred eggs. They are no bigger than pinpoints. After that, she dies.
When the eggs hatch, the babies start eating milkweed. From pinpoints, they grow into two inch caterpillars. This takes about fifteen days. Their bodies fill up with milkweed, a toxic plant that is poisonous to other animals, such as birds, who might want to eat them. After the butterflies have eaten their fill, their skin turns into a hard chrysalis. They then stay inside this for 15 days as well. The chrysalis starts to turn transparent at the end of this period and they lift out, having wings and a body filled with liquid. The butterfly sprays that liquid on its wings, which dries to become something that feels very much like a fingernail, except thinner.
The monarch butterflies in the northern milkweed mate, lay eggs, and die within eight to ten weeks. After that, their children, who live during the summer, also eat, mate, and die in their milkweed habitat within eight to ten weeks.
It's the great grandchildren of the Pismo beach monarch butterflies, born around September, who know they must leave. Monarch butterflies are unable to fly if their body temperature goes down below 55 degrees Fahrenheit, so they have no choice except to migrate south for the winter. They fly thousands of miles back to groves along the California coast. There, they stay warm for the winter and end up living for about ten months or until they have to fly back north and lay eggs.
How do they know to migrate? Scientists say it's a mystery.
Pismo Beach is not only home to the monarch butterflies, but also to eighteen miles of eerie sand dunes. A pier with restaurants makes the day end with great food and memories to share.
About 20,000 butterflies live at the Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove from October to February. They come here in search of dense foliage. The Eucalyptus trees suffice, although it could be any kind of trees. They then huddle together for warmth and protection.
The monarch butterflies travel over 1,000 miles from as far north as Canada. They come down to the coastal areas of California and you can find their groves everywhere. Pismo Beach, however, has the largest population within the United States. (Monarch butterfly groves in Mexico are bigger.) The State Park has many volunteers who also tell the stories of these winter inhabitants.
In February they know spring is near, so the mating season begins. Males grasp onto any female they can find, latch on and carry her up into a tree where they mate for hours, going on even through the night. Once the male, with his two dots on either side of his wings, feels complete, he drops the female and then searches for another. This fertility fest lasts until the females begin to leave -- and the migration begins.
If the female is to lay her eggs, she needs to find milkweed and that only grows in the north. Once she finds the toxic plant, the female monarch butterfly lays two hundred to four hundred eggs. They are no bigger than pinpoints. After that, she dies.
When the eggs hatch, the babies start eating milkweed. From pinpoints, they grow into two inch caterpillars. This takes about fifteen days. Their bodies fill up with milkweed, a toxic plant that is poisonous to other animals, such as birds, who might want to eat them. After the butterflies have eaten their fill, their skin turns into a hard chrysalis. They then stay inside this for 15 days as well. The chrysalis starts to turn transparent at the end of this period and they lift out, having wings and a body filled with liquid. The butterfly sprays that liquid on its wings, which dries to become something that feels very much like a fingernail, except thinner.
The monarch butterflies in the northern milkweed mate, lay eggs, and die within eight to ten weeks. After that, their children, who live during the summer, also eat, mate, and die in their milkweed habitat within eight to ten weeks.
It's the great grandchildren of the Pismo beach monarch butterflies, born around September, who know they must leave. Monarch butterflies are unable to fly if their body temperature goes down below 55 degrees Fahrenheit, so they have no choice except to migrate south for the winter. They fly thousands of miles back to groves along the California coast. There, they stay warm for the winter and end up living for about ten months or until they have to fly back north and lay eggs.
How do they know to migrate? Scientists say it's a mystery.
Pismo Beach is not only home to the monarch butterflies, but also to eighteen miles of eerie sand dunes. A pier with restaurants makes the day end with great food and memories to share.
About the Author:
Want to find out more about California Travel, then visit Barbara Zaragoza's site for information about Monarch Butterflies and other off-beat adventures.
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