An Amazing Butterfly Migration Makes Its Way Across California
In southern California, residents and visitors are spotting hundreds and even thousands of butterflies everywhere. With millions of painted lady butterflies migrating across the state, it’s becoming common for residents to see these pretty bugs whenever they leave their homes. The butterflies are moving from California’s Mojave and Colorado deserts to Washington, Oregon and Alaska.
James Danoff-Burg, a conservation director at the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert, said, “They were flying parallel to me, just bobbing along as I rode my bike past the date palms. It was magical. I felt like a Disney princess.” The scores of butterflies have arrived in the popular travel state at a time when California has been facing a butterfly crisis with the bug population hitting record lows last year.
Both the monarch butterfly and the painted lady species migrate. According to a recent study, the monarch butterfly population in California decreased by 86 percent since 2017. The Los Angeles Times reported that the butterfly migration happens every year, but it’s been much more noticeable in 2019. California hasn’t seen this many painted lady butterflies since 2005 when something like 1 billion of them made their way across the state.
Scientists have weighed in on the occurrence. They attribute the bug abundance to the large amount of rain that the California desert experienced this winter, which resulted in more vegetation than usual. In fact, it caused a wildflower super bloom. The butterflies thrive when super blooms occur because it gives them more places to lay their eggs and more caterpillars to dine on.
A prominent professor at the University of California, Art Shapiro, who has studied butterfly migrations for decades said that the painted ladies fly “like bats out of hell.” They fly low and fast in a straight line from the southeast to the northwest. To document the wonderful phenomenon, Californians have turned to twitter.
How Travelers to the State Can See Them
To see the painted lady butterfly migration in California, visit the state from the middle of October through February. They gather in large round clusters and rest in eucalyptus trees and in pine trees near the coast. When the sun warms up the trees, thousands of butterflies wake up and stir. The insects then take to the skies.
As the temperatures increase and the days start to get longer, the painted ladies mate. At that time, you may spot them taking spiral mating flights. Toward the end of winter or early spring, the butterflies take off to start their migration cycle.
To see the orange and black insects take off from the trees, you’ll need to be there at the perfect time of the day. If you arrive too early, you may become impatient and decide to leave before they take off. Arriving too late means that they’ll already be gone. If you’re interested in seeing them take off, check your weather app. The butterflies won’t leave their trees if the outside temperatures are less than 57 degrees Fahrenheit. They also won’t take off when it’s overcast. If the weather is cooperating, most days the insects will fly when the day heats up, which is between noon and 3:00 p.m. The flight time also depends on the tree density of where the butterflies are sleeping. If the trees are closer together, it takes longer for the area to warm up.
Where to See the Butterflies in California
The butterflies spend their winters on the California coast between San Diego and Mendocino County. The best places to see the butterflies in California are:
• Santa Cruz
• Pacific Grove
• Santa Barbara
• Pismo Beach
Santa Cruz
The Natural Bridges State Beach is one of the places to see the butterflies. This state beach is available to everyone. The park provides guided tours on certain weekends starting in early October until the butterflies leave.
Pacific Grove
The Pacific Grove Monarch Grove Sanctuary is so amazing that people nicknamed the town “Butterfly Town, U.S.A.” During the butterfly season, docents are around to answer questions. So, if you want to know more about the migration and the butterflies, then consider heading to this city for your butterfly adventure.
Santa Barbara
If you’ll be closer to the Santa Barbara area, then head to the Ellwood Main Monarch Grove, which is in Goleta. This town is to the north of Santa Barbara. At Ellwood, as many as 50,000 butterflies hang out for the winter. The best time to see them take to the skies is from noon to 2:00 p.m. The neighboring Coronado Butterfly Preserve is another spot to see the butterflies.
Pismo Beach
During some years, the Pismo Beach Monarch Grove hosts more of the butterflies than any other location in California. The grove is located in an open area, and it has a ton of sunlight. This means that you may have more opportunities to see the butterflies in flight than at any other location. You are also likely to see the butterflies at the Pismo State Beach. This site is toward the south end of the North Beach Campground.
Amazing Things About Monarch Butterflies
Monarch butterflies weigh less than 1 gram, which is less than a paperclip, but the creatures can manage a migration that would exhaust must smaller animals and even humans. When the butterflies begin their migration, the round-trip journey is something like 1,800 miles. This is like making a round trip that begins at San Diego and reaching the Oregon border and then returning.
While the insects travel a far distance, they don’t do it very quickly. In fact, four generations of the monarchs live and die before their offspring returns to where their descendants began. The first butterfly generation starts the migration cycle during the winter on the coast of California. When they’re there, they huddle in the area’s trees to protect themselves from California’s storms and to remain warm. The monarchs mate late in January and fly off by March.
The first monarch generation lays their eggs inland. They prefer to lay them on milkweed plants that are in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Then, the first generation dies. The second-generation emerges in the foothills. Once they do, the butterflies make their way to Oregon, Arizona or Nevada. The third and the fourth generation of the monarchs spread out even more. Finally, the monarchs return to California’s coast, making their way back to the area where their great-great-grandparents began.
More Details About the Painted Lady Migration
In North America, the painted lady butterflies winter around the U.S. and Mexico border. The insects fly north when spring arrives. Their descendants head back to the south during the fall. Since the painted ladies are orange and black, they are often mistaken for monarch butterflies. Painted ladies are smaller, and they have a slightly different shape.
Last year, the butterfly migration for both painted ladies and monarchs was the worst they’ve been in years. The migration that’s happening in California now is a painted lady one, and sadly, the big migration of painted ladies isn’t a prediction of the monarchs making a comeback. Shapiro said, “It has nothing at all to do with the monarch. It’s like asking whether a good year for the economy of Tanzania will be helpful to the economy of Sri Lanka. There’s no relation.” People in the area have been taking to twitter to report their sightings. Jason Suppes said, “I saw more butterflies in the last 10 minutes than I’ve seen my entire life.”
According to Shapiro, when the butterflies reach the peak of their migration, they fly at a rate of one for each second. The butterflies generally fly over obstacles rather than going around them. Since they do this, they don’t become disoriented.
Telling the Two Species Apart
Monarch butterflies and painted ladies belong to the same family, which is the nymphalid. Both are migratory species that migrate during the same time of the year and around the same area. Both species are orange and black. They are different in their wing pattern. Painted ladies do not have black veins like monarchs do. Instead, they have brown spots. On the back of the hind wings, and only visible when the butterfly’s wings are closed, you may spot four ocelli. These are round spots that look like eyes. Painted ladies also have a wing span that’s around 6 cm while monarchs have a wing span that measures 10 cm. When painted ladies fly, they tend to do so a bit sporadically. Monarch butterflies exhibit a slow floating action.
A Good Reason to Visit California
The butterfly migration is an amazing sight to see. Plan your trip during their yearly migration to see more of the pretty creatures than you would at your local butterfly biosphere exhibit. Seeing this many at once is an unforgettable experience, one that you’ll remember for the rest of your life.
