Monarch Butterfly Migration | Watch for Migrating Monarch Butterflies (Fall Migration)

Watch for Migrating Monarch Butterflies

Monarchs migrate to Mexico every fall from August to November. As they travel through your hometown, what signs of migration might you see?

Monarch butterflies nectaring on sedum flowers.

Image Sheila Daniels

Watch for Nectaring Monarchs
One of the surest ways to see migrating monarchs is to plant flowers to attract them. Monarchs may drop from the sky for the food they need during fall migration.

"We planted our garden in the middle of a city and they found us!" a teacher wrote from Minnesota.

Fall monarch flying in directional flight.

Image Journey North

Watch for Flying Monarchs
You'll know a migrating monarch if you see one that seems to be flying with a purpose, and traveling in one direction. This is called "directional flight."

"Every monarch was traveling in the same direction, as if they were following a road in the sky!" wrote a New York observer.

Image Emily McCormick

Watch for Roosting Monarchs
At night, monarchs come down to rest and cluster together in overnight roosts. A roost may have a handful of butterflies or far too many to count.

"We had 200 to 300 monarchs in the large trees in our schoolyard," wrote students from Ontario.

Image Journey North

Report Your Sightings
All monarch observations are included on Journey North's real-time maps. Your sightings help shed light on the many mysteries of monarch migration. (Report here.)

"Citizen scientists are making an important contribution to our understanding of monarchs and migration," says scientist Dr. Lincoln Brower.