Wildlife of Canary Islands: Monarch Butterfly, one of world´s most beautiful and remarkable butterflies

When I was living on Tenerife (one of the Canary Islands), I loved watching butterflies there. The Canary Islands are home to several butterfly species, including one of the most iconic butterflies in the world – the Monarch Butterfly.

Here is a close-up of one of these butterflies I took in Puerto de la Cruz in north of the island. It is also my today´s entry for the #macrophotography contest organized by @juliank and @photocontests.

^{Click on the image for full view}

While this butterfly is usually known for its beauty and striking colors, there are actually more reasons why this fascinating creature deserves our attention. Here are five of them.

1) Migration
Every year, tens of millions of the Monarchs migrate from Canada and Northern and Central US thousands of miles to Central America and Florida. It is considered one of the greatest and most impressive migrations in the animal kingdom.

2) Reproduction
Monarch Butterflies can produce up to four generations during just one summer. The first three generations usually live only several weeks. The fourth generation, however, can live much longer and it is the generation that makes the epic trip to the southern, warm location.

3) Navigation
Talking about the migration patterns, there is one thing that has been baffling scientists for decades. How is it possible that all those masses of newly born Monarchs, who have never been to the breeding grounds of their parents, always manage to return to the very same location? Nobody knows for sure.

4) Coloration
The beautiful orange-red coloration of the Monarch Butterfly has its purpose. It is a warning signal for the predators, indicating the butterfly is toxic.

5) Altitude
Monarch Butterflies are capable of flying at unusually high altitudes. They have been reported to fly as high as at an altitude of 11,000 ft (over 3,350 m). That’s where some airplanes fly.

Czech: Makro snímek monarchy stěhovavého, který jsem udělal předloni na Tenerife. Tento druh motýla je kromě nádherného zbarvení známý také tím, že každý rok urazí tisíce kilometrů při stěhování ze severu na jih a zpátky. Během tohoto procesu vzniknou až čtyři generace motýlů, přičemž ta poslední se vždy zvládne vrátit na místo, ze kterého pocházeli její předci, aniž by tam kdykoliv před tím byla. Tento jev zatím vědci nedokázali s určitostí vysvětlit. Pozoruhodné je také to, v jak velké nadmořské výšce (až 3,350 m) se tito motýli dokážou pohybovat.

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