By RTSea Blog: It was over three years ago that I started the RTSea Blog with an inaugural entry about the Monarch butterfly and its annual migration from the United States to Mexico. Not much of an ocean conservation subject but I linked it to the plight of white sharks and their migratory routes. That was in May of 2008 and now the Monarch butterfly once again appears here, this time regarding how the Monarch butterfly is able to last through its entire journey and how researchers are tracking these butterflies in a manner, once again, similar to sharks: tagging.The Monarch is an endangered insect due to the ongoing loss of deep forest habitat in Mexico. The trees are being cut down, usually illegally, and this limits the Monarch as it migrates south to the tropical forests in southern Mexico and the Yucatan peninsula. Amazing as this annual migration seems, it is even more unusual because of the fact that many of the Monarchs do not live to make the entire journey, but their offspring know to continue southward, or northward depending on the time of year. Scientists are not sure as to why the Monarch has this ability to know where to go when born and they have yet to conclusively agree on how these insects are able to migrate from point A to point B and back again. Antennae which are sensitive to the magnetic fields around the planet is one of the more common theories - a concept that is used to explain migratory behavior in birds and even sharks.Read Full: Monarch Migration: butterfly faces challenges along the way north and south
