Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Some eastern monarchs travel about 4,800 kilometres to Mexico. The figure is taken from US Fish and Wildlife Service, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a records & extremes fact?

Yes. It sits on the Records & Extremes shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

The monarch butterfly makes the longest insect migration

Some eastern monarchs travel about 4,800 kilometres to Mexico Monarchs east of the Rocky Mountains fly each autumn to fir forests in central Mexico, a journey of up to 4,800 kilometres for insects weighing less than a gram. No single butterfly makes the return trip: the generation that flies south lives through winter, then breeds and dies as its offspring head north. The roosts were only located by scientists in 1975. It sits in Mondo's records & extremes collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

US Fish and Wildlife Service

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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Tags: butterflies, migration, mexico

The monarch butterfly makes the longest insect migration: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Some eastern monarchs travel about 4,800 kilometres to Mexico. The figure is taken from US Fish and Wildlife Service, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a records & extremes fact?: Yes. It sits on the Records & Extremes shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.