A Massive Amount Of Butterflies Migrating Through Denver Was So Big It Was Picked Up By Doppler Radar

It’s a flock of birds, it’s a plane….nope, it’s actually a massive amount of butterflies.

The National Weather Service out of Boulder posted two radar images on their Twitter account Tuesday morning that showed a large, mysterious mass hovering over the Denver metro area. Meteorologists initially thought these images were migrating birds, which is not an uncommon occurrence to view via radar. The next day, after they received several eye witness accounts from locals, the National Weather Service determined that what they saw was, in fact, migrating painted lady butterflies.

The meteorologists studying these unique images were quite surprised as insects rarely produce such a coherent radar signature. However, butterflies have larger wings and were highly concentrated as they flew with the wind flow which created these radar echoes.

The butterflies that made up this 70-mile-wide swarm were painted ladies. These gorgeous insects are similar in appearance to the monarch butterfly and have been noticed in abundance lately by locals.

The puzzling butterfly action on radar imagery began Tuesday morning and continued throughout the day. Many were confused as to why the insects were traveling in the northwest direction instead of south toward their goal of warmer weather. Apparently, the headwinds were so strong that day, that the butterflies were being pushed in that direction.

It's typical to see many painted lady butterflies this time of year as it is the peak time for them to pass through on their journey south for the winter months. But, we don't usually experience such a large amount of these beauties descending on the Denver area as we have in the last few weeks.

With plentiful flowers, these butterflies experienced a great summer season of breeding which boosted their population. Residents along the front range have reported seeing them in great numbers feeding on flowers and flying around in groups, in what appeared to be clouds.

Although most of the painted lady butterflies are well on their way to Arizona, New Mexico, and Northwest Mexico by now, we are so glad they made such an memorable stop here in the Denver area.

Did you experience the plentiful amount of painted lady butterflies this year? Share in the comments below!

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So Many Butterflies Are Migrating Through Denver That They've Been Picked Up By The Doppler Radar

Laura Konrade

Author

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