Monarch Butterflies Born In Captivity Have Trouble Migrating South, Study Says
A researcher made the discovery after ordering monarchs from a breeder. To help them, experts recommend planting milkweed.
Updated at 5:45 p.m. ET
Three summers ago, Ayse Tenger-Trolander, a graduate student at the University of Chicago, ordered a batch of monarch butterflies from a breeder, and made an accidental discovery: the butterflies had likely lost the ability to migrate.
studies the genetics and internal biology of migratory monarchs, and she had ordered the butterflies from a breeder that supplies butterflies for educational settings, with the goal of speeding up her experiments. "We fully expected ... that even though they've been bred in captivity,
