Monarch butterflies migrate south Oct 3, 2018

Monarch butterflies migrate south

Fall sets in motion a journey of some 3,000 miles for these monarch butterflies, which migrate from southern Canada to their wintering habitat in central Mexico. There, they cluster together in fir trees, creating the illusion of orange, fluttering foliage. They’ll remain in their winter roosts until March, when the journey back north begins. But no one individual monarch will complete the full roundtrip, which exceeds the normal monarch lifespan; instead it will take four generations of monarchs to complete the full migration, each individual seemingly driven by an internal compass that guides its flight path.

© Alejandro Prieto/Minden Pictures

palette

Today in History

Oct 3, 2019Love on ice
Oct 3, 2020In the belly of Fat Bear Week
Oct 3, 2021Birthplace of Roman emperors
Oct 3, 2022World Architecture Day
Oct 3, 2023Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Island, Australia
Oct 3, 2024Taj Mahal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
Oct 3, 2025Glen Brittle, Isle of Skye, Scotland

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Apr 12, 2020Who created the Easter Bunny?
Aug 17, 2019The buzz about bees
May 20, 2018Who doesn’t love a ‘Puppy’?
Mar 17, 2018Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Jun 24, 2025Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah
Jul 25, 2022National Merry-Go-Round Day
Nov 30, 2025Christmas market in Leipzig, Germany
Dec 13, 2024Christmas market, St. Stephens Basilica, Budapest, Hungary
Dec 21, 2023Winter solstice
Jul 29, 2021Hiding in plain sight
Oct 2, 2020A wild and scenic scene
Jan 23, 2019Celebrating Pie Day is as easy as, well…
Dec 2, 2025Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act anniversary
Aug 11, 2022It s Mountain Day in Japan
Dec 3, 2018Computer science on the page
Jul 25, 2023Laguna de Torrevieja, Spain
Sep 18, 2024Gujō Hachiman Castle, Gifu prefecture, Japan
Feb 4, 2025Golden Bridge, Bà Nà Hills, Da Nang, Vietnam
Oct 1, 2021What s better than a smile?
Mar 21, 2018Celebrating the International Day of Forests
Apr 3, 2024Find a Rainbow Day
Jun 13, 2022Okavango Delta, Botswana
Sep 7, 2025Gdańsk on the banks of the Motława, Poland
Nov 17, 2021Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
Feb 8, 2024Mount Hood, Oregon
Dec 14, 2019The Christmas Bird Count begins
Dec 28, 202350 years of the Endangered Species Act
Jun 2, 2019An island for the birds
Sep 3, 2024Wilderness Act anniversary
Nov 12, 2024Arches National Park anniversary