The monarch butterfly is especially known for its long annual migration. Make mass migrations crossing several countries during the process having as hibernation sites to Mexico. Most hibernation sites have been included in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve.

In the fall (September and October) the monarch butterflies of the west make their migration journey from Canada to the coast of California in the United States to spend the winter in small eucalyptus forests and the Monarch butterflies from the east travel to central Mexico to pass the winter in the Oyamel and pine forests above 3000 m in the states of Mexico and Michoacán. In this migration Monarch butterflies travel around 5 000 km to spend the winter in Mexico where they stay for approximately 5 months (November to March). In the spring begins the mating of butterflies in Mexico and its return to the north in mid-March. This migratory generation known as “Methuselah” makes the complete journey from north to south and part of the journey from south to north.

There are also resident populations of monarch butterflies that live all the time in Mexico without being part of the migration, in addition to the other subspecies distributed in the Caribbean, Central America and northern South America.