Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Las mariposas monarcas

Image result for butterflies in mexico Today will finally be the day that I get to see the mysterious and beautiful butterflies that land every year in Michoacan, México.  As those of you who have been following my journey know, I have been studying the unusual migration that the monarch butterflies make every October, and now I will finally get the chance to see their beauty with my own eyes.  
For those of you who are unfamiliar with this migration, I’ll explain it briefly.  Each and every year around October and November, around 60 million to one billion butterflies fly from Canada and the Northern States in the U.S. to the forests of western central México.  This trip can be more than 2,500 miles for some of these butterflies.  Monarchs, because of their unusually strong wings with vein-like structures, are able to travel farther than most every other type of butterfly.  This migration is very unique, but the fact that it coincides with the Mexican holiday “Day of the Dead” is what really draws me to the phenomenon.  The butterflies come to México during the same time that the locals believe that the souls of their deceased loved ones return to the Earth.  These locals believe that this is not merely a coincidence, but that the Monarchs ARE the souls of the deceased.  
Image result for butterflies in mexico map This huge statement is not only supported by the fact that the butterflies always come during the time of this religious and traditional holiday, but also by the anatomy of the butterflies.  During the Day of the Dead, death is represented by a skeleton, and bones and skulls can be found everywhere throughout the city.  The veins of the butterfly definitely resemble bones and a skeletal system, which to the locals, represent their loved ones who have passed.  

This Friday, the 28th of October, I will be flying to México to experience this wonder for myself. I will be posting pictures and updates to this blog, so be sure to follow me if you want to see what I am doing.  Image result for butterflies in mexico

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