Monarch butterflies use lightweight Bluetooth tags to track migration paths
Researchers in the US and Canada are tracking monarch butterflies using new sub-gram Bluetooth radio-pulse tags during their migration to Mexico and Central America.
New technology enables precise tracking
Scientists have developed a radio-pulse tag that weighs less than half a gram. This device uses Bluetooth technology to send location data back to researchers in the United States and Canada. The tags allow scientists to collect far more information about migration paths and speeds than was previously possible.
Butterflies move across multiple states
Monarchs tagged in Virginia have been detected as far south as Mexico. Other individuals checked in from Texas before moving outside the range of cell service. Two recent visitors to Virginia Tech are currently located in Alabama and South Carolina respectively.
Names help researchers follow journeys
Dr Jennifer Weber gives some of the butterflies specific names to keep track of their perilous migratory journeys. One monarch named Sneezy was detected in Mexico on October 17 after being tagged in the New River Valley. Other tagged butterflies like Orion and Walker were found in Georgia before heading west again.
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