Migration of Dragonflies and Butterflies Caught on Radar

10/23/2019

USA – A phenomeon that occurs every year around September-October is the migration of Monarch Butterflies and Green Dragonflies to the warmer southern regions of the US and Mexico. Like the Canadian Goose these insects fly over 900 miles to survive the winter months before returning in the spring.

Unlike the Canadian goose both the Monarch butterflies and the Dragonflies don’t do this with just one life, but they lay eggs and the next generations complete the lifecycles.

Green Dragonflies can travel up to 900 miles from North America and some parts of Canada to the Gulf of Mexico for the winter. This mass migration actually takes three life cycles to complete every year. Today National Weather Cleveland caught it on the weather station.

This is not rain being observed by the radars across IN/OH/PA today. Care to take a guess as to what is traversing the region?

In early spring dragonflies fly North as far as they can, lay eggs and die. The second generation hatched in the North and by September starts to fly south to, you guessed it lay eggs and die also. The third generation doesnt migrate at all, but spends its life cycle were its warm for the winter and around the time of the thaw lays eggs and dies. The cycle then repeats itself the the next year, how and why is something scientist haven’t been able to explain yet, but they believe that it has to do with temperature.

The Monarch butterfly is very similar that it travels to the warm climates of Mexico where it lays eggs and dies. The next generation then flies north when conditions are right. Unlike the Dragonfly the Monarch butterfly takes four generations to complete this cycle every year.