Why Monarch Butterflies are North America's insect mascot

NPR | By Alejandra Marquez Janse,

Juana Summers, Jordan-Marie Smith, Justine Kenin

Published August 10, 2026 at 4:26 PM EDT

Vann Newkirk, senior editor at The Atlantic, loves butterflies, especially monarch butterflies. He sat down with NPR's Juana Summers to dig into a trip to Mexico that helped him explore his passion.

Alejandra Marquez Janse

Alejandra Marquez Janse is an assistant producer for NPR's evening news program All Things Considered.

Juana Summers

Juana Summers is a host of NPR's All Things Considered.

See stories by Juana Summers

Jordan-Marie Smith

Jordan-Marie Smith is a producer with NPR's All Things Considered.

Justine Kenin

Justine Kenin is an editor on All Things Considered.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

Donate

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Donate