Obsessed with the Quest

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Stories of dangerous expeditions, told first-hand by adventuring, tenacious scientists.

Stories of dangerous expeditions with narrow escapes, told first-hand by the adventuring, tenacious scientists and naturalists themselves as they pursue breakthroughs in research.

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Obsessed with the Quest: Bicycling with Butterflies

Bicycling with Butterflies

BBC Radio 4 - Obsessed with the Quest, Bicycling with Butterflies

Sara Dykman recounts her 10,201-mile journey following the monarch butterfly migration.

Sara Dykman recounts her 10,201-mile journey following the monarch butterfly migration, from the mountains of central Mexico, across the USA to Canada.

When Sara Dykman set out to bicycle with the monarch butterfly migration, from the mountains of central Mexico, across the USA to Canada, she didn't think about the 10,201 miles that she would cover. Climbing onto her beater bike every morning, with panniers made from cat litter buckets, she just focused on the miles that she would attempt that day. Coping with headwinds, heavy rain storms, and everything from dirt roads to busy highways were not the challenge for Sara though. It was seeing how little of the Monarch's only food plant, milkweed, was left for them to feed on during their amazing, multigenerational, multinational migration. Not only that but, after her glorious first day of cycling along within a stream of butterflies, Sara typically only saw one or two monarchs per day on the rest of her trip. 

However, Sara found solace in the many conservationists and backyard butterfly gardeners she met along the way, and in the 9000 schoolchildren she gave talks to en route. Always on the lookout for milkweeds, Sara danced on the side of the road if she found a plant where monarchs had laid their eggs. She would then desperately attempt to relocate them if she saw a lawn mower approaching, as she did on many occasions. The most emotional part of the journey for Sara was the last three miles - arriving successfully back at the monarch's overwintering site in Mexico.

Produced by Diane Hope

Credits:
Monarch butterfly recordings - Robert Mackay

(Image: Flock of butterflies cover a tree branch. Credit: Douglas Sacha/Getty Images)

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