Butterfly Migration Relay (2D)

Migration Parameters

Flock speed 1.0x

Wing-flap speed 1.0x

Flock cohesion 1.0x

Live Statistics

Population

Relay legs completed

In breeding grounds

Overwintering (Mexico)

How it works

This 2D companion runs the same flock-following-a-path mechanic as the 3D migration scene, redrawn as a top-down map instead of a decorative flyover. Real monarchs never make the round trip as individuals — the southbound flight to the Mexican oyamel fir forests is flown by one long-lived "super generation," and the return north is relayed across three or four short-lived generations that each cover part of the route. Here that relay is shown by spreading the population evenly along the whole corridor at all times: as butterflies reach the south end they wrap back to the north edge, so watching the map is watching the population's seasonal position, not one butterfly's whole trip.

Flock speed — how fast individuals advance along the corridor (their own pace along the flyway, same slider as the 3D scene).
Wing-flap speed — visual flutter rate of the wing strokes; it does not change flight speed, only how fast the wings beat.
Flock cohesion — how tightly individuals stay near their lane on the corridor versus wandering sideways into the flyway margins.
Relay legs completed — increments every time an individual wraps from the south end back to the north edge, i.e. every simulated hand-off to the next generation.

North (top) → South (bottom)

Breeding grounds (N. America) Central flyway Overwintering forest (Mexico)