Monarch butterflies return to Mexico on annual migration

Mexico City: The first monarch butterflies have appeared in the mountaintop forests of central Mexico where they spend the winter, Mexico’s Environment Department said Saturday.

The first butterflies have been seen exploring the mountaintop reserves in the three largest traditional wintering grounds — Sierra Chincua, El Rosario, and Cerro Pelón in Michoacan state.

Normally they arrive for the Day of the Dead observances on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2. Mountainside communities long associated the orange-and-black butterflies with the returning souls of the dead.

Image courtesy of (Image: LatinBayArea.com)

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