Body mass500 millionths kg
1Hummingbird egg
500 millionthsPineapples
About 0.5 g
Photo by Erin Minuskin on Unsplash
Monarch Butterfly
A half-gram insect that migrates 4,800 km on paper-thin wings/Insects & Arachnids
The monarch butterfly undertakes one of the longest insect migrations on Earth, traveling up to 4,800 km from Canada to central Mexico. No single butterfly completes the round trip; it takes multiple generations. They navigate using a sun compass in their antennae and are toxic to predators thanks to milkweed consumed as caterpillars.
Measurements
Wingspan1 tenths m
2 tenthsTree stump diameters
5.6 hundredthsSamsung refrigerators
1Hand breadth
About 10 cm
Migration distance4.8 million m
3.2 millionScarf lengths
23,415Suez Canal widths
2.3 millionChristmas trees
One-way, Canada to Mexico
Flight speed5 m/s
1.1 tenthsMLB fastballs
5.62Walking humans
1.6 tenthsHighway speeds
About 18 km/h cruising
Daily migration distance130,000 m
8,025Tractor trailer lengths
13,000Fire engine lengths
4.81Malta lengths
Up to 130 km per day
Migration generation lifespan6.9 million s
3,840"Be right back"s
5,760Halftime shows
About 8 months for the migratory generation
Altitude during migration3,000 m
15,000Dinner forks
150Grain silo heights
652 quadrillionIron nuclei
Glides at up to 3,000 m elevation