¡Bienvenido a Toluca, Mexico!
Here, teachers and students from Colegio Rivendell will add facts, experiences, and observations about monarch butterflies in their area. They will also share some pictures and videos.
Below are some comments about monarchs from First Year students at Colegio Rivendell in Toluca, Mexico.
When I went to the place where the butterflies live, I saw a lot of them. It was a great experience to see them flying because sometimes they stand on your head. The only bad thing is that some people capture them or even kill them. You must be quiet when you’re in the place, otherwise they get scared.
The experience makes you realize that it’s good that these habitats exist and it’s our responsibility to take care of them. I really recommend that you visit this beautiful place.
Tatiana
My experience visiting the monarch butterflies was really interesting and amazing because I could see when some of them were born, and also how they fly, eat, and take care of each other. I also know that the butterflies come from the USA and Canada and they migrate to Mexico because the climate is warmer and better for reproduction.
Noé
My experience visiting Valle de Bravo was amazing because I saw some butterflies flying very close to me and I literally felt butterflies in my stomach. The only bad thing is that there are some rude and ignorant people that shout or speak loudly and make them feel stunned, so they fall to the ground and die. However, there are some people looking over the place and each time the butterflies leave the place is cleaned. The experience is wonderful.
Marco
I had a blast when I saw the monarch butterflies; it was a very funny experience, something beautiful and unique. I visited them when I was 9 years old, one flew over my head and I could touch it, it was like touching velvet, its wings were soft but I felt kind of scared and left it.
Karla
The monarch butterfly is an endangered species and we must take care of them. These insects are beautiful and live longer than other butterflies, up to 9 months. They are able to fly more than 4000 kilometres, from the USA and Canada to the central Mexican forests of Michoacan. The journey takes approximately 33 days and they flight around 120 kilometres a day.
Experiencing such an amazing phenomenon in Mexico is something amazing and the places where you can find them are: Cerro Altamirano, Cerro Pelón, Sierra del campanario and Cerro Picacho.
Fernanda Jocelin
Seeing millions of butterflies flying is something extraordinary. They always fly to the same places and cover the trees simulating foliage. Due to the fact that each butterfly migrates just once, it is important to respect them and do not disturb them so we can observe their magnificence every year.
Jesus Emanuel
The monarch butterfly is perhaps the best known of all North American butterflies. Since the nineteen century it has been taken to New Zealand and Australia. She also lives in the Canary Islands, the Azores and Madeira and it is found as an occasional migrant in Western Europe.
Jorge
I saw some monarch butterflies approximately seven years ago. I visited the pace with my family and my godmother; there were a lot of butterflies and trees. The trees were full of black and orange butterflies; some of them were frozen because it was very cold and they were dying, it was very sad. My godmother took a dead butterfly and put it on my head, I felt bad because it is strange to have a dead animal on your body. That’s why whenever I see a bee in the water I help it, that’s why I like to help insects.
Sometime later I went to Temascaltepec, a place near Valle de Bravo, and I saw them flying.
Jocelin
Its scientific name is Danaus Plexippus, it is one of the best known butterflies. They have a pattern on their wings, the colours they have are black and orange and through them they are easily recognised. Their wingspan measures between 8 and 10 centimetres. The females’ veins are more obscure and thinner whereas the males release pheromones through their veins; the male is slightly larger.
It is a long-lived species, they can live up to 9 months while other species only live 24 days, this enables them to travel 5 thousand kilometres from Canada to the forests of Oyamel fir trees in Mexico. They migrate in autumn from Canada to Mexico and spend the winter in the pines or oyamels that are found in the state of Michoacan they spend approximately 5 months here.
Andrea Gómez
Below are some comments about monarchs from First Year students at Colegio Rivendell in Toluca, Mexico.
When I went to the place where the butterflies live, I saw a lot of them. It was a great experience to see them flying because sometimes they stand on your head. The only bad thing is that some people capture them or even kill them. You must be quiet when you’re in the place, otherwise they get scared.
The experience makes you realize that it’s good that these habitats exist and it’s our responsibility to take care of them. I really recommend that you visit this beautiful place.
Tatiana
My experience visiting the monarch butterflies was really interesting and amazing because I could see when some of them were born, and also how they fly, eat, and take care of each other. I also know that the butterflies come from the USA and Canada and they migrate to Mexico because the climate is warmer and better for reproduction.
Noé
My experience visiting Valle de Bravo was amazing because I saw some butterflies flying very close to me and I literally felt butterflies in my stomach. The only bad thing is that there are some rude and ignorant people that shout or speak loudly and make them feel stunned, so they fall to the ground and die. However, there are some people looking over the place and each time the butterflies leave the place is cleaned. The experience is wonderful.
Marco
I had a blast when I saw the monarch butterflies; it was a very funny experience, something beautiful and unique. I visited them when I was 9 years old, one flew over my head and I could touch it, it was like touching velvet, its wings were soft but I felt kind of scared and left it.
Karla
The monarch butterfly is an endangered species and we must take care of them. These insects are beautiful and live longer than other butterflies, up to 9 months. They are able to fly more than 4000 kilometres, from the USA and Canada to the central Mexican forests of Michoacan. The journey takes approximately 33 days and they flight around 120 kilometres a day.
Experiencing such an amazing phenomenon in Mexico is something amazing and the places where you can find them are: Cerro Altamirano, Cerro Pelón, Sierra del campanario and Cerro Picacho.
Fernanda Jocelin
Seeing millions of butterflies flying is something extraordinary. They always fly to the same places and cover the trees simulating foliage. Due to the fact that each butterfly migrates just once, it is important to respect them and do not disturb them so we can observe their magnificence every year.
Jesus Emanuel
The monarch butterfly is perhaps the best known of all North American butterflies. Since the nineteen century it has been taken to New Zealand and Australia. She also lives in the Canary Islands, the Azores and Madeira and it is found as an occasional migrant in Western Europe.
Jorge
I saw some monarch butterflies approximately seven years ago. I visited the pace with my family and my godmother; there were a lot of butterflies and trees. The trees were full of black and orange butterflies; some of them were frozen because it was very cold and they were dying, it was very sad. My godmother took a dead butterfly and put it on my head, I felt bad because it is strange to have a dead animal on your body. That’s why whenever I see a bee in the water I help it, that’s why I like to help insects.
Sometime later I went to Temascaltepec, a place near Valle de Bravo, and I saw them flying.
Jocelin
Its scientific name is Danaus Plexippus, it is one of the best known butterflies. They have a pattern on their wings, the colours they have are black and orange and through them they are easily recognised. Their wingspan measures between 8 and 10 centimetres. The females’ veins are more obscure and thinner whereas the males release pheromones through their veins; the male is slightly larger.
It is a long-lived species, they can live up to 9 months while other species only live 24 days, this enables them to travel 5 thousand kilometres from Canada to the forests of Oyamel fir trees in Mexico. They migrate in autumn from Canada to Mexico and spend the winter in the pines or oyamels that are found in the state of Michoacan they spend approximately 5 months here.
Andrea Gómez