Every spring, many monarch butterflies drift back into Florida on orange-and-black wings that have captivated scientists for generations. They arrive quietly, fluttering through fields and roadsides, stopping at nectar plants to feed and to lay eggs on patches of milkweed. Soon their offspring emerge and begin dispersing across the landscape.
What happens next has long remained one of the biggest unanswered questions in monarch migration research.
Now, researchers at the University of Florida are preparing to follow the butterflies in a way that was impossible until recently — using tiny solar-powered radio transmitters light enough to ride on the backs of monarch butterflies as they move through North Central Florida.
Read more about Tiny Transmitters Could Unlock Monarch Migration Mysteries in Florida.
