Migration map

Circles are your sightings with coordinates; larger circles mean more monarchs. The coloured lines are the documented migration corridors — a guide to where and when to look, not a record of individual butterflies. Sightings recorded by place name only are listed below the map.

Migration routes and dates

Spring: Michoacán to Texas and the southern plains

Mid-March to late April

The overwintering generation flies north-east across the Sierra Madre Oriental into Texas, where it lays eggs and dies. Look for tattered, faded adults early in the season.

Mid-March: Overwintering monarchs leave the Michoacán fir forests.
Late March: First arrivals reach Texas and lay eggs on early milkweed.
April: Their offspring move north through Oklahoma and Kansas.

Spring: Corn Belt into the Great Lakes and Ontario

May to early July

Successive generations leapfrog north through the milkweed-rich Midwest. Each adult lives only a few weeks, so sightings here are usually fresh, brightly coloured butterflies.

May: The first spring-born generation reaches Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska.
Early June: Monarchs arrive in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.
Late June to July: Breeding reaches southern Ontario and Quebec.

Spring: Atlantic coastal plain to New England

May to June

A smaller eastern stream follows the Appalachians and the coastal plain northwards, filling in New England later than the Midwest.

Early May: Monarchs move up the coastal plain through the Carolinas.
Late May: Arrivals reach the mid-Atlantic states.
June: Breeding reaches New England and the Maritimes.

Fall: the central funnel to the Michoacán forests

Late August to early November

The famous one-way journey of up to 4,500 km, made by a single long-lived generation. Watch for large evening roosts in tall trees along the corridor.

Late August: The migratory generation leaves the Great Lakes region.
September: Monarchs stream south through the plains, roosting overnight.
Early to mid-October: The great funnel narrows over central Texas.
Late October to early November: Arrival at the overwintering colonies.

Fall: Atlantic coastal route to the Gulf

September to October

Eastern monarchs hug the coast, concentrating at famous watch points before turning west along the Gulf to join the central funnel.

Early September: Coastal monarchs move south past Cape May, New Jersey.
Late September: They follow barrier islands through the Carolinas.
October: The route bends west along the Gulf coast towards Texas.

Western population: inland breeding to the California coast

Fall arrival October, spring dispersal February to March

Monarchs west of the Rockies overwinter in eucalyptus, cypress and pine groves along the California coast rather than in Mexico.

September to October: Monarchs leave inland breeding areas in the Rockies, Great Basin and Pacific Northwest.
October to February: They cluster in coastal California groves such as Pismo Beach and Santa Cruz.
February to March: Overwintered adults disperse inland to find early milkweed.

Timing varies year to year with weather. Corridors are drawn as broad illustrative lines based on published monitoring programmes.