Monarch butterfly photographer to showcase his work in Calgary

Chasing and documenting monarch butterflies is essentially Jaime Rojo's life's work. The photographer will visit Calgary Feb. 1 and 2.

Photographer Jaime Rojo has found a subject that has captivated him for more than two decades: the monarch butterfly.

Despite the many hours he’s spent following their migratory path across North America, he admits he and other experts have a lot to learn about why the butterflies know where to fly.

“When the butterflies return to Mexico, they have never been there. They are the great-granddaughters of the butterflies that left in the spring,” he told CTV News.

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“We have a pretty good idea of what is happening, of how they navigate. You see a very precise solar compass, that they use cues from the landscape and they might also be using some pheromones to pinpoint the exact location of the forest,” Rojo said.

The photographer visits the Jack Singer Concert Hall at Werklund Centre on Feb. 1 and 2 as part of the National Geographic Live series.

Part of his message revolves around conservation and the need to maintain habitat for monarch butterflies.

“The long-term trend is very clear. The population has declined about 80 per cent in the last five decades,” Rojo said.

He says there are many factors for the declining population, but it’s largely caused by “the loss of breeding habitat in the prairies of the USA and Canada, the loss of wintering habitat in Mexico and the combination with climate change.”