The Long Flight of the Monarch
Written by Studio AM.
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Each autumn, many monarch butterflies from eastern North America travel south to wintering forests in central Mexico. These long-lived adults can survive the winter and begin flying north again in spring.
They lay eggs as they move through the southern part of the breeding range. Their offspring continue north, and later generations spread farther during spring and summer. The full annual pattern therefore involves several generations, rather than one butterfly visiting every part of the range.
The adults that head south the next autumn have not previously visited the wintering forests. They do not follow a route taught by their parents. Research shows that they can use the Sun together with an internal clock to maintain a direction as the Sun moves across the sky. Inherited responses and environmental cues help guide the journey, while researchers continue investigating how the butterflies reach particular destinations.
This account concerns the eastern migration. Monarchs elsewhere can follow different routes or remain in one region, so not every monarch makes the same journey.
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Question 1 of 4
The passage is mainly about
The answer is C: an eastern monarch migration involving several generations and navigation cues
The passage explains the eastern annual pattern, the role of successive generations, and known navigation cues.
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Question 2 of 4
Which butterflies begin flying north from Mexico in spring?
The answer is A: Surviving adults that traveled south the previous autumn
The adults that survive the winter begin the return north; their offspring continue through later parts of the breeding range.
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Question 3 of 4
Why does the southward journey raise questions about navigation?
The answer is C: The adults reach wintering areas they have not visited before.
New autumn migrants have not visited the destination, so their guidance cannot simply be a memory of their own previous trip.
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Question 4 of 4
In this passage, 'generations' refers to
The answer is C: the successive parents, children, and grandchildren in the family
Offspring and later generations refer to successive groups of parents and descendants.
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