science · 02 January 1975 · 50 years ago
In 1975, Kenneth C. Brugger discovered the long-unknown winter destination of the monarch butterfly in the mountains of Mexico. From 1937, for 38 years, Canadian zoologist Freud Urquhart patiently investigated to establish the route and destination of the insects. Using tags on the wings of some butterflies, he followed their migration trails to Mexican territory. Brugger, one of Urquhart's helpers, after a long period of traveling in the center of Mexico, found the first butterfly refuge. Within the territory of only 200 square meters, there are around 20 million butterflies. The area was cold and covered with oyamel trees and pine trees, a few kilometers from rural towns.
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