Monarch Butterfly Migration

Hello there. My name is Dr. Fred Urquhart, and I want to tell you about the greatest mystery I ever solved. Ever since I was a little boy, I have loved monarch butterflies. My wife, Norah, loved them too. We would watch them in the summer, with their beautiful orange and black wings fluttering among the flowers. But then, when the weather started to get chilly, they would all disappear. Every single one. It was a wonderful mystery. Where did they go? Nobody in the whole world knew the answer, and I just had to find out. Norah and I decided we would be the ones to solve it, no matter how long it took. We wanted to follow them on their secret journey.

To solve this puzzle, Norah and I needed a plan, and we needed lots of help. First, we had to figure out a way to keep track of a tiny butterfly that could fly for thousands of miles. I invented a special kind of sticker, like a tiny, light-as-a-feather tag, that we could stick gently onto a butterfly's wing. It didn't hurt them at all. On each tag, there was a message that said, “Send to Zoology University of Toronto Canada.” Then, we asked thousands of people all across North America to become our 'butterfly detectives.' We asked them, if you find one of our tagged butterflies, please send us a letter and tell us where you found it. For years and years, letters came in the mail. It was so exciting. Someone would find a butterfly in Kansas, then another person would find one farther south in Oklahoma. We drew lines on a big map, connecting the dots and tracing the butterflies' path. But the trail always went cold in Texas. The butterflies would fly over the border into Mexico, and the mystery would begin all over again. We didn't give up. We knew we were getting closer.

After almost 40 years of searching, the most wonderful thing happened. On January 9th, 1975, I received a phone call from our helpers in Mexico, Ken and Catalina. They shouted over the phone, “We found them. We have found them all.” Norah and I were so excited we could barely pack our bags. We traveled to the tall mountains in Mexico. When we got there, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was a forest of butterflies. Millions and millions of monarch butterflies were clustered together on the oyamel fir trees. The branches were so heavy with butterflies that they drooped down, and the whole forest glowed with an orange light. It was a secret, magical place. We had finally solved the mystery. Because we found their secret winter home, we now know how to protect these incredible travelers. It all started with a question, and it shows that if you stay curious, you can discover something amazing.