Cindy Dunbar, age 10, of Indianapolis, Indiana, for her question:

How far does the monarch butterfly fly?

Most of our pretty butterflies perish with the first frost. But they always leave behind well wrapped eggs or chrysalises to hatch into new generations next summer. The orange brown monarch butterfly does not perish in the fall. Nor does it find a cosy corner to hide from the wintry weather. In the fall, this brave beauty flies south to spend the winter in a warmer climate. Millions and millions of monarchs fly in flocks to favorite winter homes in California and other parts of the south.

Come spring, they spread out and straggle back to their favorite summer homes, throughout all the states and parts of Canada. This means that some must migrate farther than others. Those that summer in the central states may migrate only a few hundred miles. Those that summer in Maine or Canada must fly 1,000 or as far as 2,000 miles. The yearly trip may be 2,000 miles there and 2,000 miles back.