Shedding light on milkweeds’ annual migration

Journey of butterfly species is linked to monsoons

At the onset of northeast monsoon, thousands of milkweed butterflies begin their annual migration in southern India. But not much is known about this phenomenon.

Now, the Ferns Nature Conservation Society(FNCS), an NGO based in Wayanad, has come out with some interesting findings on the journey of the winged beauties through a citizen science project.

The NGO has found that as many as six species of milkweed butterflies, including Dark Blue Tiger, Blue Tiger, Common Crow, Double-branded Crow, Striped Tiger, and Plain Tiger, begin their ecologically significant journey in October-November, with the onset of the northeast monsoon, from the plains to the Ghats, and in April-June, just before the advent of the southwest monsoon, from the Ghats to the plains.