Monarch Butterfly Migration and Creation
by Owen Borville
May 30, 2019
Biology
The annual migration patterns of the monarch butterfly of North America have been described as a unique phenomenon and represent the creative design of a powerful creator. The monarch butterfly is the only butterfly known to make this two way migration pattern and is similar to the migration patterns of birds. Monarchs can travel up to 100 miles a day on a migration route that can take up to two months to complete. The longest ranging monarch butterfly recorded traveled 265 miles in one day.
Scientists have observed that monarchs cannot survive the harsh winters of North America and migrate southward in the winter to escape cold temperatures and move toward warmer climates. Somehow, monarchs know when to migrate and what direction to travel in order to reach their final destination. Scientists have determined that monarchs use a combination of air currents and thermals to travel long distances. Some researchers also believe that monarchs use the magnetic pull of the Earth and the position of the Sun in order to guide their migration route. In other words, there is some built in system that enables the monarchs to perform their migration. Some monarchs fly up to 3,000 total miles to reach their final destination. Monarchs also seem to cluster together to stay warm in their migration routes, as Eastern and Mid-Western North American monarchs are known to cluster in the trees near the Sierra Madre Mountains and the state of Michoacan, Mexico and Western North American monarchs are known to cluster along the southern California Pacific coastline, which has a similar climate to Mexico.
Is this evolution? Did those less capable monarchs that couldn't figure out how to migrate perish and the ones that did survive and therefore produced superior offspring that were also more capable to perform the migration? How do the monarchs know how to get to Mexico and California and cluster in the same area if they have never been there before? A single monarch does not make the entire migration trip, but rather several generations of monarchs are needed to complete the trip. Monarch butterflies may take as many as five generations to make it from Mexico to southern Canada and back again. Non-migrating monarchs live only a few weeks but the migrating monarchs can live up to eight months during the migration route, or from late summer until the following spring season. As monarchs lay eggs along the trip, new generations are born along the route and these help complete the total migration. Monarchs are also known to travel across peninsulas along the shortest water route to land and use the wind to help them get across the water. Where did the monarch obtain all of these abilities?
A better explanation would be that the monarch and its migration patterns are part of a unique design of a powerful creator. In other words, the ability of butterflies to migrate was built into their genes and DNA structure. Adaptation to certain environments is also a large part of the process and most creationists accept that many species adapt to their environment, however, the ability to learn how to migrate and the ability to migrate and adapt to environmental conditions was given to the monarch through the creation week event. It is difficult to explain or describe how the monarch could obtain the ability to migrate without this ability being given to it as a result of a unique design by a powerful and capable Creator.
United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Information Contributed to this Article https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/Monarch_Butterfly/migration/index.shtml
by Owen Borville
May 30, 2019
Biology
The annual migration patterns of the monarch butterfly of North America have been described as a unique phenomenon and represent the creative design of a powerful creator. The monarch butterfly is the only butterfly known to make this two way migration pattern and is similar to the migration patterns of birds. Monarchs can travel up to 100 miles a day on a migration route that can take up to two months to complete. The longest ranging monarch butterfly recorded traveled 265 miles in one day.
Scientists have observed that monarchs cannot survive the harsh winters of North America and migrate southward in the winter to escape cold temperatures and move toward warmer climates. Somehow, monarchs know when to migrate and what direction to travel in order to reach their final destination. Scientists have determined that monarchs use a combination of air currents and thermals to travel long distances. Some researchers also believe that monarchs use the magnetic pull of the Earth and the position of the Sun in order to guide their migration route. In other words, there is some built in system that enables the monarchs to perform their migration. Some monarchs fly up to 3,000 total miles to reach their final destination. Monarchs also seem to cluster together to stay warm in their migration routes, as Eastern and Mid-Western North American monarchs are known to cluster in the trees near the Sierra Madre Mountains and the state of Michoacan, Mexico and Western North American monarchs are known to cluster along the southern California Pacific coastline, which has a similar climate to Mexico.
Is this evolution? Did those less capable monarchs that couldn't figure out how to migrate perish and the ones that did survive and therefore produced superior offspring that were also more capable to perform the migration? How do the monarchs know how to get to Mexico and California and cluster in the same area if they have never been there before? A single monarch does not make the entire migration trip, but rather several generations of monarchs are needed to complete the trip. Monarch butterflies may take as many as five generations to make it from Mexico to southern Canada and back again. Non-migrating monarchs live only a few weeks but the migrating monarchs can live up to eight months during the migration route, or from late summer until the following spring season. As monarchs lay eggs along the trip, new generations are born along the route and these help complete the total migration. Monarchs are also known to travel across peninsulas along the shortest water route to land and use the wind to help them get across the water. Where did the monarch obtain all of these abilities?
A better explanation would be that the monarch and its migration patterns are part of a unique design of a powerful creator. In other words, the ability of butterflies to migrate was built into their genes and DNA structure. Adaptation to certain environments is also a large part of the process and most creationists accept that many species adapt to their environment, however, the ability to learn how to migrate and the ability to migrate and adapt to environmental conditions was given to the monarch through the creation week event. It is difficult to explain or describe how the monarch could obtain the ability to migrate without this ability being given to it as a result of a unique design by a powerful and capable Creator.
United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Information Contributed to this Article https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/Monarch_Butterfly/migration/index.shtml
