How We Finally Solved the Monarch Butterfly Migration Mystery

PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateOKAY ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Follow me to Atlas Obscura to learn about the discovery of this place: https://youtu.be/mXc1ZeRlOe0 Grab a headset and experience the monarch forest in VR180: https://youtu.be/fSa605IfTiE The monarch butterfly migration is one of nature’s greatest events. This orange-winged wonder travels up to 4,500 km from all over North America to spend the winter hanging from oyamel fir trees in central Mexico’s mountain forests. I got to go there. Seeing tens of millions of butterflies dangling from the treetops is a truly breathtaking sight. But how does an animal with a brain the size of a poppy seed navigate to this one special place, especially since the last monarchs to make the trip lived 4 or 5 generations earlier? Get ready for an amazing story of science, instinct, and navigation. #nature #monarchbutterfly #migration Special thanks to: Dr. Steven Reppert - UMass Medical School Atlas Obscura: @atlasobscura Jason Goldman: @jgold85 Phil Torres: @phil_torres Filmed on location at: La Reserva de Biosfera de la Mariposa Monarca - Michoacán, Mexico Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - Austin, Texas SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a video! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ----------- REFERENCES: Guerra, P. A., & Reppert, S. M. (2013). Coldness triggers northward flight in remigrant monarch butterflies. Current Biology, 23(5), 419-423. Reppert, S. M., Zhu, H., & White, R. H. (2004). Polarized light helps monarch butterflies navigate. Current Biology, 14(2), 155-158. Reppert, S. M., Guerra, P. A., & Merlin, C. (2016). Neurobiology of monarch butterfly migration. Annual review of entomology, 61, 25-42. Reppert, S. M., & de Roode, J. C. (2018). Demystifying monarch butterfly migration. Current Biology, 28(17), R1009-R1022. ----------- FOLLOW US for more curiosity: Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Books from our episodes: http://smart-books.tumblr.com/

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