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Jul 20, 2015 22 min

Butterflight Patterns

from We Have Concerns Hosted by Jeff Cannata/Anthony Carboni

Monarch butterflies make an incredible, multi-generational migration from Canada to Mexico, but, strangely, they do not take the the most direct route. Somewhere over Lake Superior, these butterflies always change direction drastically, as if avoiding something. New research suggests that there was once a mountain range in the exact position of the course correction, and every generation of monarch butterfly somehow remembers to circumvent it, even thousands of yours later. Jeff and Anthony are mystified by this phenomena, but that doesn't stop them from speculating on how and why this unnecessary extra effort takes place. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get early episodes/bonus content, check out our Patreon: http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhc Jeff on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffcannata Anthony on Twitter: http://twitter.com/acarboni Today’s story was sent in by Joel: http://io9.com/butterflies-remember-a-mountain-that-hasnt-existed-for-509321799 If you’ve seen a story you think belongs on the show, send it to [email protected] or leave it on the subreddit: http://reddit.com/r/wehaveconcerns Support the show and get bonus episodes, videos, Discord community access and more! http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Jeff on Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/jeffcannata.bsky.social Anthony on Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/acarboni.bsky.social

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Monarch butterflies make an incredible, multi-generational migration from Canada to Mexico, but, strangely, they do not take the the most direct route. Somewhere over Lake Superior, these butterflies always change direction drastically, as if avoiding something. New research suggests that there was once a mountain range in the exact position of the course correction, and every generation of monarch butterfly somehow remembers to circumvent it, even thousands of yours later. Jeff and Anthony are mystified by this phenomena, but that doesn't stop them from speculating on how and why this unnecessary extra effort takes place.

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Butterflight Patterns

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