Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) have become a superb model system to unravel how the tiny insect brain controls an impressive navigation behavior, such as long-distance migration. Moreover, the ability to compare the neural substrate between migratory and nonmigratory Monarch butterflies provides us with an attractive model to specifically study how the insect brain is adapted for migration. We here review our current progress on the neural substrate of spatial orientation in Monarch butterflies and how their spectacular annual migration might be controlled by their brain. We also discuss open research questions, the answers to which will provide important missing pieces to obtain a full picture of insect migration — from the perception of orientation cues to the neural control of migration.

帝王蝶（Danaus plexippus）已成为一个极好的模型系统，可以揭示微小的昆虫大脑如何控制令人印象深刻的导航行为，例如长距离迁徙。此外，比较迁徙和非迁徙帝王蝶之间的神经基质的能力为我们提供了一个有吸引力的模型来专门研究昆虫大脑如何适应迁徙。我们在此回顾目前在帝王蝶空间定向神经基础方面的进展，以及它们壮观的年度迁徙如何由大脑控制。我们还讨论了开放的研究问题，这些问题的答案将为获得昆虫迁徙的全貌提供重要的缺失部分——从方向线索的感知到迁徙的神经控制。