The Monarch Butterfly migration pattern spanning thousands of miles is epic; it takes four or five generations of butterflies to make the 3,000-mile flight from Mexico all the way to Canada. But the single, unique migratory generation born in late summer lives eight months, flying all the way back to Mexico where it will spend the winter living off fat reserves until mating season comes round again.

These butterflies, once a familiar sight, are plummeting toward extinction due to landscape-scale threats from pesticides, development and global climate change. The Center is working hard to win them protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

Source: Center for Biological Diversity, World Wildlife Federation