Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Imagine going on a trip that’s thousands of miles long and flying the entire way! That’s what monarch butterflies do every year in one of the animal kingdom’s most epic journeys. But how exactly do these delicate insects navigate that distance, and what dangers do they face along the way? For a long time, scientists could only track monarchs by placing tiny sticker tags on their wings and hoping someone would find them. Now, solar-powered radio tags small enough to glue onto a butterfly's back are helping scientists uncover the secrets of this amazing voyage. Join journalist Dan Fagin and Science Friday Host Ira Flatow to learn what this groundbreaking technology is teaching us—and why understanding monarch migration has never been more urgent.
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Listen to the whole story on the SciFri podcast at
sciencefriday.com/segments/bats-agave-pollinator-monarch-migration-tracking
Or get our free educational activity at
sciencefriday.com/educational-resources/how-do-you-track-a-butterfly
#STEMeducation #SciFri
Imagine going on a trip that’s thousands of miles long and flying the entire way! That’s what monarch butterflies do every year in one of the animal kingdom’s most epic journeys. But how exactly do these delicate insects navigate that distance, and what dangers do they face along the way? For a long time, scientists could only track monarchs by placing tiny sticker tags on their wings and hoping someone would find them. Now, solar-powered radio tags small enough to glue onto a butterfly's back are helping scientists uncover the secrets of this amazing voyage. Join journalist Dan Fagin and Science Friday Host Ira Flatow to learn what this groundbreaking technology is teaching us—and why understanding monarch migration has never been more urgent.
------
Listen to the whole story on the SciFri podcast at
sciencefriday.com/segments/bats-agave-pollinator-monarch-migration-tracking
Or get our free educational activity at
sciencefriday.com/educational-resources/how-do-you-track-a-butterfly
#STEMeducation #SciFri
