Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve: Mexico

Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) are notable for their long-distance migrations. The fact that an insect measuring a fifth of the weight of penny can fly a journey totaling up to 3,000 miles is amazing. What’s even more impressive is that the individuals that make the journey south have never been to their winter destination before.

Every year millions and millions of monarchs in North America, east of the Continental Divide, migrate to central Mexico to spend the winter months. These butterflies aren’t the same individuals that journeyed north earlier in the year. They’re the great, great grandchildren (grand-butterfly?) generation. The butterflies appear to fly on pure instinct, and the oyamel fir (Abies religiosa) forests in the states of Michoacan and Mexico are apparently an irresistible pull for the monarchs. Only monarchs born in the late summer or fall make the southward migration.


Larval monarchs feed on milkweed plants (Asclepias spp.) after they hatch from eggs. Milkweeds contain a noxious sap that makes monarchs, in turn, unpalatable to potential predators. Adult monarchs feed on nectar, but their high contrast coloration is a warning sign to potential predators of toxicity stemming from their larval days.

The range of oyamel firs in Mexico is extremely limited. The species is only found on 12 isolated mountaintops in Mexico’s Transverse Neovolcanic Belt. Oyamel forests are wet and cool and this environment helps slow the metabolism of monarchs so they can conserve food reserves throughout the winter to make the journey northward in the spring.

Milkweed population declines in North America and deforestation in the Mexican wintering grounds are leading to a decrease in monarch numbers. The 2008 designation of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is an attempt to protect valuable monarch winter habitat from further destruction.

Dias de los Muertos: Mexico

Today and yesterday, November 1st and 2nd, mark the Days of the Dead (Dias los Muertos) in Mexico. November 1st is in honor of deceased children and infants (Dia de los Inocentes – Day of the Innocents) and November 2nd is in honor of adults (Dia de los Muertos).


Whenever I bring up Day of the Dead in conversation, it’s usually met with a response that insinuates morbidity. In fact, Day of the Dead is quite the opposite. Families and friends gather on these two days to celebrate the lives and memories of loved ones that have been lost over the years. It is a celebratory holiday and one of my most memorable travel experiences was a trip to Michoacan, Mexico to partake in the festivities.

Mexican legend has it that people die three deaths. The first death occurs when our body ceases to function. The second death happens when our body is buried, returned to the earth, and placed out of sight. The third, and final death, ensues when there is no one left to remember us. Dias de los Muertos is a way to keep the third death from coming to pass.


Over the two Days of the Dead, it is believed that the souls of the deceased find it easier to visit lost family members and friends. Because of this, people visit cemeteries in anticipation of this annual return. Altars are erected at the grave site and ofrendas (offerings) of the deceased’s favorite foods and libations are placed on the altars - enticement and sustenance for the soul’s long journey. Dias de los Muertos is a celebration of life as the thought of death is embraced and accepted.


If you ever have the opportunity to visit Mexico during this time of year, it’s an experience that provides insight into a national tradition that blends a variety of cultures spanning thousands of years. In the process, Dias de los Muertos just might change the way you view death.