Great Migrations Butterflies

This special series of NG Readers will serve as companions to the 10-hour National Geographic special, "Great Migrations." These specially branded books will combine the powerhouse that has become the readers audience as well as the huge audience of animal lovers that will be following the television series. The monarch butterfly, one of the most seemingly delicate of all of nature’s animals, proves to be one of the toughest in this reader. Making the yearly trip from the Northern United States and Canada to the Oyamel forest of Mexico is no easy task, and it takes five generations of butterflies in order to do so. Battling cold temperatures and the threat of starvation, these beautiful insects complete an almost 3,000 mile journey over the course of two months, only to have to turn and around and head back home.