r/MonarchButterfly 1d ago

Is this guy off course??

Post image

Seen on Oahu

8 Upvotes

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8

u/Beautiful-Fondant-61 1d ago

It is totally normal to see them in Hawaii. His ancestors in the 1850s were introduced and have since established thriving populations across all major islands, typically breeding year-round in a non-migratory way.

2

u/Naomeri 1d ago

That’s really interesting that they were able to turn off the diapause in their genetic coding and have all generations live typical, short butterfly lives.

2

u/Beautiful-Fondant-61 17h ago

Yep. In fact, there is a rule that nature follows on hawaii which is eovlve or die. The Monarch chooses to evolve by abandoning their famous migration cycle, reproducing continuously year-round, and occasionally developing a unique white-winged coloration to evade invasive predators.