This trip has been completed. View photos of the trip.

February 10-18, 2009 with Lincoln Brower '53, Research Professor of Biology at Sweet Briar College. Be among the few to witness the mysteries of the monarch, encountering millions in the Mexican highlands. A Vanishing Treasures Program.

Each autumn the delicate and beautiful monarch butterfly undergoes one of the most extraordinary annual migrations on our planet. Up to a billion monarchs embark on a 2,500 mile journey across North America to their ancestral wintering grounds in the forest sanctuaries in the spectacular trans-volcanic range in central Mexico. In this quiet, beautiful region of high peaks and dense forests, the butterflies gather together by the millions on the conifers where they spend five months. At the end of March, the survivors fly back northward to lay their eggs on freshly sprouting milkweeds, and several generations are produced from the Gulf Coast states to southern Canada. For scientists around the world this annual migration is one of nature's greatest mysteries.

Princeton Journeys jointly presents this expedition to Mexico with the Alumnae Association of Sweet Briar College to witness the remarkable overwintering spectacle of the monarch butterfly. From the butterfly sanctuaries in Angangueo, the group will travel west, to spend two nights in the lovely colonial town of Pátzcuaro. Participants will be treated to lunch at a private hacienda, the location of La Cruz Habitat Protection Project. Learn about how this conservation project is helping farmers reforest their lands and reduce pressure on the fir trees that the monarchs need for overwintering.

An optional post-trip extension to Puerto Vallarta allows for humpback whale watching.

About the Study Leader
Renowned biologist Dr. Lincoln Brower '53, professor at Sweet Briar College, will serve as study leader for this program.

Dr. Brower has been described by National Geographic as "the continent's foremost authority on monarch migration." For more than forty years he has researched the questions of how and why different generations of monarchs return to these same forest highlands each year.

Distinguished Service Professor of Zoology, Emeritus at the University of Florida, Professor Brower has served as Research Professor of Biology at Sweet Briar College since 1997. He has served as president of the Society for the Study of Evolution, the International Society of Chemical Ecology, and the Lepidopterists' Society. The recipient of many awards, including the Medal for Zoology from the Linnean Society of London, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Animal Behavior Society, and the Henry Bates Award for the Biology and Conservation of Tropical Butterflies, in June 2007 he received the Royal Entomological Society of London Marsh Award for lifetime contributions to insect conservation and outstanding contribution to the field of entomology. He is currently collaborating with various groups to protect and restore overwintering forests of the monarch butterfly in Mexico.

To make a reservation, fill out the form in the brochure or contact Princeton Journeys at (609) 258-8686 or journeys@princeton.edu.

View photos of the trip.

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