Concerns that captive breeding affects the ability of monarch butterflies to migrate

Oberhauser, Karen S.

doi:10.1038/d41586-019-02644-y

NEWS AND VIEWS
09 September 2019

Concerns that captive breeding affects the ability of monarch butterflies to migrate

Monarch butterflies’ ability to migrate over long distances is impressive. Evidence that some monarchs reared in captivity have impaired migratory skills compared with wild monarchs has conservation implications.

Karen S. Oberhauser⁰

Karen S. Oberhauser
1. Karen S. Oberhauser is at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum and in the Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53711, USA.
View author publications

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Access through your institution

Buy or subscribe

The eastern population of North American monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) migrates annually in early autumn to a mountainous region in central Mexico. The incredibly long distances covered during these journeys, and the striking sight of these butterfly populations on the move have captivated people’s imaginations. Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Tenger-Trolander et al.¹ document the loss of migratory behaviour in monarchs that had been bred in captivity over multiple generations.

Access options

Access through your institution

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 573, 501-502 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-02644-y

References

Tenger-Trolander, A., Lu, W., Noyes, M. & Kronforst, M. R. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 116, 14671–14676 (2019).
Article PubMed Google Scholar
Semmens, B. X. et al. Sci. Rep. 6, 23265 (2016).
Article PubMed Google Scholar
Thogmartin, W. E. et al. R. Soc. Open Sci. 4, 170760 (2017).
Article PubMed Google Scholar
Herman, W. S. & Tatar, M. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 268, 2509–2514 (2001).
Article Google Scholar
Goehring, L. & Oberhauser, K. S. Ecol. Entomol. 27, 674–685 (2002).
Article Google Scholar
Thogmartin, W. E. et al. Environ. Res. Lett. 12, 074005 (2017).
Article Google Scholar
Oberhauser, K. S., Nail, K. R. & Altizer, S. (eds) Monarchs in a Changing World: Biology and Conservation of an Iconic Butterfly (Cornell Univ. Press, 2015).
Google Scholar
Young-Isebrand, E. et al. in Monarchs in a Changing World: Biology and Conservation of an Iconic Butterfly (eds Oberhauser, K. S., Nail, K. R. & Altizer, S.) Ch. 1 (Cornell Univ. Press, 2015).
Google Scholar