Monarch Butterfly Circadian Rhythms

New research has shown that the monarch butterfly uses a light-sensitive cryptochrome protein to regulate its internal circadian rhythm, and this protein is also linked to its navigational ability, suggesting that "part of the remarkable navigational ability of the butterfly relies on its ability to integrate temporal information from the clock with spatial information from its visual system. This allows the monarch to correct its course as light shifts across the sky over the course of the day."