Presentation
France - Born in 1955
The Incredible Odyssey of the Monarch Butterfly
This is the tale of a journey, of an epic migration rarely seen in the animal kingdom. When winter comes, the Monarch butterfly leaves its North American domain and spends two months travelling at a speed of almost 75 kilometres a day to the sacred-fir forests in the mountains of central Mexico. The insects head to what scientists call their ‘overwintering location’ high up in the state of Michoacán. The Monarchs come here to flee the frigid temperatures of the northern part of the continent, travelling up to 5,000 kilometres to hibernate on the trunks and branches of these soaring fir trees.
However, as a butterfly’s lifespan rarely exceeds five weeks, those that make the return trip are actually distant descendants of those who made the outward journey! What is even more astonishing is that every year, as summer ends, the Monarchs give birth to a special kind of butterfly known as the Methuselah generation. Unlike the others, these butterflies can live up to eight months and thus take part in both legs of the journey. It’s as if humans were able to give birth, as required, to children with a life expectancy of several hundred years.
Pascal Maitre travelled to the Mexican sanctuary of these butterflies, which are threatened with extinction because of rampant deforestation. This problem has now been successfully countered by the action of WWF Mexico, with support in its reforestation policy from the Yves Rocher Foundation.
JARDIN DES MARAIS
In partnership with the Yves Rocher Foundation.
© Pascal Maitre / MYOP for the Yves Rocher Foundation
Exhibition
This is the tale of a journey, of an epic migration rarely seen in the animal kingdom. When winter comes, the Monarch butterfly leaves its North American domain and spends two months travelling at a speed of almost 75 kilometres a day to the sacred-fir forests in the mountains of central Mexico. The insects head to what scientists call their ‘overwintering location’ high up in the state of Michoacán. The Monarchs come here to flee the frigid temperatures of the northern part of the continent, travelling up to 5,000 kilometres to hibernate on the trunks and branches of these soaring fir trees.
However, as a butterfly’s lifespan rarely exceeds five weeks, those that make the return trip are actually distant descendants of those who made the outward journey! What is even more astonishing is that every year, as summer ends, the Monarchs give birth to a special kind of butterfly known as the Methuselah generation. Unlike the others, these butterflies can live up to eight months and thus take part in both legs of the journey. It’s as if humans were able to give birth, as required, to children with a life expectancy of several hundred years.
Pascal Maitre travelled to the Mexican sanctuary of these butterflies, which are threatened with extinction because of rampant deforestation. This problem has now been successfully countered by the action of WWF Mexico, with support in its reforestation policy from the Yves Rocher Foundation.
JARDIN DES MARAIS