Fred Urquhart

Frederick Albert Urquhart (December 13, 1911 – November 3, 2002) was a Canadian zoologist and professor of zoology who studied the migration of monarch butterflies, Danaus plexippus L. Together with his wife, Norah Roden Urquhart , he identified their migration routes, discovered that the migration spans multiple generations of butterflies, and found their wintering place in Mexico—considered "one of the greatest natural history discoveries" of the 20th century. He attended the University of Toronto, graduating in 1935 with a degree in biology. The Urquharts raised thousands of monarchs at their home in Scarborough, Ontario, as well as using the facilities of the University of Toronto to analyze their findings and do research.

The Urquharts identified several distinct migration routes but were baffled why the trail seemed to disappear in Texas in the late fall, only to reappear in the spring. They sought help in Mexico and recruited a pair of naturalists to search for the butterflies. On January 9, 1975, Kenneth C. Brugger and his wife Catalina Trail (then known as Cathy Aguado) finally located the first known wintering refuge for the butterflies on a mountaintop in Michoacán, Mexico, more than 4,000 kilometers from the starting point of their migration.

In 1976, the Urquharts traveled to Mexico to view the long-sought wintering site for themselves. His article "Discovered: The Monarch's Mexican Haven" was published in National Geographic magazine in August 1976, and featured a cover photograph of Trail covered with butterflies. Fred and Norah Urquhart received the W.W.H. Gunn award presented by the Federation of Ontario Naturalists. An IMAX film, Flight of the Butterflies, tells the story of the long search by the Urquharts, Brugger, and Trail to unlock the secret of the butterflies' migration.

Personal life

Fred Urquhart died in 2002 at the age of 90 in Pickering, Ontario. Norah died on March 13, 2009, also in Pickering and also at age 90.

Select publications

Books

The Monarch Butterfly. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1960. The Monarch Butterfly: International Traveler. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1987.

Journal articles

"Found at Last: The Monarch's Winter Home". National Geographic, August 1976.