PBS’s Hummingbird Drone Captures Incredible Monarch Butterfly Swarm

Photo: YouTube

PBS’ nature series, aptly titled Nature, brings the warmth of the coming springtime in full-force with a new clip of its hummingbird “spy” drone immersed in a massive monarch butterfly swarm. Featured on its Spy in the Wild series, the educational network’s quaint hummingbird photographer gets inside this half-million flutter of monarchs deep within the Mexican mountains. Once their fragile wings reach a pivotal 50 degrees, the butterflies can shed off their wintertime’s sleep and take to the skies en masse.

The narrator comments that this is “a spectacle that has rarely been filmed, and our spy is harmlessly in the very heart of it.” Thankfully, no butterflies were harmed in the making of this short because of the carefully netted design of the faux-bird’s propellers.

Scroll down to see the drone in action You can see more natural marvels from this episode and others on PBS’ website.

Photo: YouTube

Photo: YouTube

Watch Nature’s hummingbird “spy” drone sneak into the middle of a monarch butterfly swarm and capture the most breathtaking footage.

PBS Nature: Website | Facebook | Instagram
h/t: [PetaPixel]

Related Links:

This is What Millions of Monarch Butterflies in Migration Sound Like

Surreal Swarm of 15,000 Paper Butterflies Invades a 19th-Century Building

Biologist Captures the Brilliant Details of Butterflies Perched on Flowers