Back in October of 1996, when my grandson, Michael was born in San Antonio, I went there to meet him with two friends. We stayed in San Antonio for five days. Before we left to come home, we decided to drive down to Laredo so we could go shopping across the border in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Little did we know that we would encounter thousands of the beautiful Monarch Butterflies.
At the time, I had a Dodge Ram 1500 pick up truck. It was white, with tan interior, and so comfortable for taking long trips. That truck had four doors, and could seat six people with no problem. We got on the road very early in the day so we could get in as much shopping as possible once we got there.
On the trip down I-35, we ran into clouds of Monarch Butterflies that were making their annual migration. I had heard about the migration of these beautiful butterflies, but had never seen it before. There were thousands of them, all along the route down to Laredo.
Monarch Butterflies are the only insect that migrates. If they are from east of the Rocky Mountains, they migrate to Central Mexico. If they live west of the Rocky Mountains, they migrate to the Pacific Grove, California area. In California, they hibernate in eucalyptus trees. In Central Mexico, they hibernate in oyamel fir trees. No matter which location they migrate to, they always use the same trees! I find that to be interesting.
As we drove down the highway, there were so many butterflies. They hit the truck and the windshield, making it almost impossible to see. By the time we got to Laredo, my white truck was orange on the front. It made me very sad to know that I was responsible for killing so many of the beautiful Monarch Butterflies. I will never forget seeing the migration, and being in the middle of it. Have you ever seen the migration?
What an awesome sight that must have been! A few years ago, I lived where milkweed was abundant, so monarchs were fairly common. I used to collect the eggs and caterpillars to raise them inside, then release them after they became butterflies (increasing their success rate by 90%). Where we live now, I’ve only seen one or two monarchs each year, and the only milkweed I can find is the few scraggly plants I’ve managed to establish in my yard. I find monarchs incredibly beautiful, both as caterpillars and butterflies, and their migration is almost beyond belief. Thanks for sharing your story.