today i found out that when monarch butterflies migrate south for the winter, all the ones that go across the middle of lake superior suddenly stop going south and go west for five miles and then continue south. which really freaked scientists out cos like What is in the Middle of Lake Superior what do Butterflies know that We Dont Is This The End Times etc. anyway turns out about a hundred million years ago there was a mountain there and the butterflies still think they gotta fly around it. classic butterflies
Y’all, unfortunately, this is just not true. A few months ago, I urged people on this site to be skeptical specifically about ecology & wildlife biology posts with no sources. This is a perfect example.
This post has made its rounds for ten years (originally posted in 2015), and the earliest source I have ever been able to find for this claim is an article posted in 2013, which says:
“Biologists, and certain geologists, believe that something was blocking the monarchs’ path. They believe that that part of Lake Superior might have once been one of the highest mountains ever to loom over North America.”
Who these “biologists” and “certain geologists” are is a mystery. The article links two sources:
Dillard is an acclaimed author and nature writer, but she is not a biologist or geologist and cannot be referenced as such. The referenced excerpt from Pilgrim at Tinker Creek:
Dillard credits this claim to nameless entomologists and a book with no title. It’s a dead end. Bear in mind, the entomologists and books who may have made this claim, which Dillard later read, would have done so pre-1974.
The truth about monarch butterfly migrations may lack the sci-fi/fantasy allure of a mountain range that exists only in a butterfly’s primordial memory, but it’s still incredible.
These creatures with magnificently intelligent and fragile bodies are believed to use internal solar and magnetic compasses to traverse mountains and lakes:
But as far as I can find, there is no Monarchs’ memories of a long-lost mountain which dictates their modern-day migration route.
If anyone has more insight on this, I would appreciate it, because I am not an entomologist. I specialize in marine science and scientific interpretation, and I only used those skills to find and present what I believe is the best available information on this topic. Thank you!
people keep calling this “a net zero information post.” you should click any of the links I shared about butterflies and the lake and learn something new and exciting! : )
My current Imaginary Scenario is to pretend I’m a mouse in a sort of Beatrix Potter World and imagine all the different objects in my house and how I obtained them. You know, spool of thread side table I stole from an old lady’s purse. Velvet ring box armchair I found discarded in the park after a failed marriage proposal. Pocket square bed linens I liberated from the coat of a man distracted by a pretentious argument about beer. Bottle cap dishes also liberated during that argument. Beaded curtain that used to be a Mardi Gras necklace. That sort of thing.
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
Some things I would buy on Facebook Marketplace to furnish my Mousecore room if I were rich
A beaver colony in the Brdy region has gained overnight fame by building several dams in the Brdy protected landscape area, creating a natural wetland exactly where it was needed. It saved the local authorities 30 million crowns, and has the public cracking jokes about public administration and red tape.
The administration of the Brdy protected landscape area, which had gained approval for the 30 million crown project, was dealing with red tape and seeking the respective building permits from the Vltava River Basin authorities when the dam project was completed almost overnight by a local colony of beavers.
They could not have chosen their location better –erecting the dams on a bypass gully that was built by soldiers in the former military base years ago, so as to drain the area. The revitalization project drafted by environmentalists was supposed to remedy this. Bohumil Fišer, head of the Brdy Protected Landscape Area Administration says Nature took its course and the beavers created the necessary biotope conditions practically overnight.
back when z-a was announced, i made a joke about charizard getting another mega form (charizard Z) and this is what i came up with. patron saint of mega evolution.
tried emulating the current era pkmn style with this one with an arguable amount of success 😆
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
