|  The
beautiful monarch butterfly is the national insect of U.S. The
wing span is about 3-4 inches with bright orange patches with
black borders. On the outer margins are white spots. You have
probably seen this insect in United States or Canada in medows
and farms.
 In
winter, these insects completely dissappear from north America.
They migrate deep into the forests of Mexico in clouds of millions.
The feed on nector that helps them sustain themselves during their
long journey southward and also during their winter hibernation.
These butterflies are slow fliers and average a distance of about
50 miles each day. However they do use the northward winds and
columns of rising air to carry them to high altitudes from where
they can glide along.
Fir forests at an elevation of about 10,000 feet like the Angangueo
valley and certain places on the California coast are ideal places
for the Monarch to survive the winter. The life span Monarch varies
from about two to five weeks and if they manage to survive the
winter go on to live a much longer life of about 8-9 months.
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