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Western Monarch Day
"Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you."
~ Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)
A butterfly landing on you is often seen as a good omen, and if a monarch happens to flutter your way, consider it a very special moment! This tartan, inspired by this striking butterfly is sure to catch the eye — whether that of a passing monarch or a keen lepidopterist! With their bold orange and black wings, monarchs are among the most recognizable butterflies and one of nature’s greatest travelers. Western Monarch Day is celebrated on February 5th because it marks the peak of the western monarch butterflies’ overwintering period along the California coast. During this time, thousands of monarchs cluster together in groves of eucalyptus, Monterey pine, and cypress trees, resting before they begin their return migration in spring.
After spending the winter in coastal California, western monarch butterflies begin their spring migration in February and March, heading inland and northward to breed. Their migration follows a multi-generational cycle, similar to the eastern monarchs. Flitter, flutter, butterflies! 🧡 💛 🖤 🤍 🧡 🦋
By designer Carol A.L. Martin, this tartan reflects the brilliant colors of the Western Monarch butterfly.
The Western Monarch (Danaus plexippus) may be the most familiar North American butterfly, with its easily recognizable black, orange, and white wing pattern.
The North American monarch population is notable for its annual southward late-summer/autumn migration from the United States and southern Canada to Mexico. During the fall migration, monarchs cover thousands of miles, with a corresponding multi-generational return north.
Monarchs have even been transported to the International Space Station and bred there.
In both caterpillar and butterfly form, monarchs are aposematic - warding off predators with a bright display of contrasting colors to warn potential predators of their undesirable taste and poisonous characteristics.
Monarchs are foul-tasting and poisonous due to the presence of compounds from milkweed ingested during their caterpillar phase.
Monarchs share the defense of noxious taste with the similar-appearing viceroy butterfly in what is perhaps one of the most well-known examples of mimicry. Though long purported to be an example of Batesian mimicry, the viceroy is actually reportedly more unpalatable than the monarch, making this a case of Müllerian mimicry.
Flight of the Butterflies is a 2012 Canadian documentary film covering Dr. Fred Urquhart's nearly 40-year-long scientific investigation into the monarch butterfly, tracking the details of what is considered one of the longest known insect migrations, the flight of the monarch butterfly from Central Mexico to the United States and Canada and back.
To see a stunning trailer for this beautiful film, click the Monarch!