The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1911-10-13
A MYSTERY OF MIGRATION
m. Horde OF Butterflies That Light on
the Limb In Flight South

ppge auain - their annual lllsilhlAR'
,el,,b never lus failed M the last iri
49, ,bon.ands 81 beautiful monarch
I im,tcrllt.. an the same color and AL w,
' ""', s,',,;,. sNarncd nn the limbs Of
i,rp,s In the ward IA 10 rear ~ ih' holht
~ Mn ". D. Gcorrc, Dayton avenue
,estrrdny afternoon, hanging w gf'h,
cluster, 70 thick in places the trees seemed
spotted with brown.
About & 'clock they began TO come
hundred, in flock, flying AZ straight rs
Il glided by an unseen hand. Past hosts
ii other trees they flew unhesiiaiingly'
aud with an unrrrinp instinct sought
resting nlnc,. un the limbs OF the very
ire thai has been the Temporary shelter
M tbousnnd, II their ancestors ~ years
gone by, a.
NIore singular was the quest OF the
buttrrflics al former years that had sought
AM This resting place over night on Their
tourney south Nine year, ~ SUCCESSION
30 long he. Mrs George kept account
they came 70 one particularly long limb
Of a box elder in the yard, literally con-
cealing i, with their clusters
Other limbs on that tree were ignored
as the buttcrilic, Yesterday ignored other
trees in adjoining lots. This was their
resting place for the night other
would do. Uncrringly they found q,
hanging low 20 the ground, and never did
they leave il until sunrise.
Last year this limb was cut oil, so
when the butterflies returned TINS year
the old place Of vantage was gone and
they clustered on the outer branches Of
this and other trees in the yard. But m
the one ward they stayed, loyal though
the old home was gone.
What guides them to one spot m IT.
Paul is a scientific mystery made more
involved because II Is SAID butteriiles
live only one year, hence none from last
wear could have guided them this season
TO the trees. Mr.. George, who has
watched them for years and has seen
thousands come and thousands go, offers
no explanation for the ever recurring
visit
This butterfly Is known commonly as
the milkwced butterfly, said A. G. Rug
giles. assistant professor in the division
OF entomology Of the State Agricultural
school when consulted last night. The
scientific name is Anosia pleMppus, and
il belongs to the family Lymnadidas. II
derives its common name because the
caterpillar from which II comes feeds
almost entirely on milkweed.
"These butterflies are nauscous TO birds
and hence are able 10 congregate As they
do with mpunity. They have a northern
migration in the spring and a southern
in the fall different from that OF birds IN
this way, that the female butterflies come
north about the time the milkweed begins
to grow in the spring, lay their eggs and
die soon after Matching from these eggs
are the caterpillars that feed on the weed,
eventually changing into butterflies, which |
ay still further north, where the females |
again lay eggs,
And so generation after generation is
produced, the adults migrating further |
and further north, until We find them,
late in the season often as far north as
IIudson's Bay In the fall they gather
rrgreat focks and fly south.
"They are great fliers and we know
hey can cover 500 miles at least, because
specimens have been taken on the ocean
hat distance from shore. The monarch
5 native OF America, but is now prac-
ically cosmopolitan, being found almost
on the globe. st. Paul
Dispatch