Question: Can you name two reasons monarchs need to leave Mexico quickly in the spring? Can you think of two reasons that should not come north too quickly?
Answer: Mrs. Nunnally's second grade class at Peter Woodbury School in Bedford, NH thinks that monarchs need to leave Mexico quickly because they are running out of fat and because it's starting to get too warm in Mexico.
The monarchs don't want to leave too quickly or the weather in the north might still be too cold for them. Also the milkweed might not be growing yet and they won't have a place to lay their eggs and the caterpillars won't have food.
Mrs. Chriss' class in Indianapolis, Indiana agreed. "They shouldn't come to the north too fast is because they might freeze," the students said.
Great job! Spring is an urgent time of year for monarchs. To learn more about the challenges monarchs face in the spring read, "Spring Migration: A Race Against Time."
