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North American monarch butterflies use magnetic fields to migrate to and from their overwintering sites - using cold temperatures to tune how they use magnetic fields - per experimental study, which might be disrupted under climate change

08.13.25 | PLOS

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Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) only use magnetic cues for migratory directionality with orientation re-calibrated by coldness
Hypothetical neural circuit of the environmentally-tuned monarch magnetic compass. Credit: Guerra et al., 2025, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

North American monarch butterflies use magnetic fields to migrate to and from their overwintering sites - using cold temperatures to tune how they use magnetic fields - per experimental study, which might be disrupted under climate change

Article URL : http://plos.io/4fhCt8X

Article title: Monarch butterflies ( Danaus plexippus ) only use magnetic cues for migratory directionality with orientation re-calibrated by coldness

Author countries: U.S.

Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.

PLOS One

10.1371/journal.pone.0328737

Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) only use magnetic cues for migratory directionality with orientation re-calibrated by coldness

13-Aug-2025

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Additional Media

Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) only use magnetic cues for migratory directionality with orientation re-calibrated by coldness
Migratory monarch butterflies use magnetic field cues to guide them during migration and refuel during the trip by nectaring on flowers. Credit: Patrick A. Guerra, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Keywords

Animals Insects Invertebrates Life Sciences Organismal Biology

Article Information

Journal
PLOS One
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0328737
Article Publication Date
2025-08-13
Article Title
Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) only use magnetic cues for migratory directionality with orientation re-calibrated by coldness
COI Statement
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Contact Information

Hanna Abdallah
PLOS
onepress@plos.org

How to Cite This Article

APA:
PLOS. (2025, August 13). North American monarch butterflies use magnetic fields to migrate to and from their overwintering sites - using cold temperatures to tune how they use magnetic fields - per experimental study, which might be disrupted under climate change. Brightsurf News. https://www.brightsurf.com/news/L7VM7KZ8/north-american-monarch-butterflies-use-magnetic-fields-to-migrate-to-and-from-their-overwintering-sites-using-cold-temperatures-to-tune-how-they-use-magnetic-fields-per-experimental-study-which-might.html
MLA:
"North American monarch butterflies use magnetic fields to migrate to and from their overwintering sites - using cold temperatures to tune how they use magnetic fields - per experimental study, which might be disrupted under climate change." Brightsurf News, Aug. 13 2025, https://www.brightsurf.com/news/L7VM7KZ8/north-american-monarch-butterflies-use-magnetic-fields-to-migrate-to-and-from-their-overwintering-sites-using-cold-temperatures-to-tune-how-they-use-magnetic-fields-per-experimental-study-which-might.html.