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An explosion of orange butterflies, known as painted ladies, is filling the skies over Southern California as the winged beauties make their way north by the millions.

The colorful insects leave the Mojave Desert for Oregon in the Pacific Northwest every year during their annual migration, but this year their sheer numbers are surprising scientists, according to the San Francisco Gate.

"In 2005, we had a similar outbreak," professor of evolution and ecology at the University of California, Davis, Arthur M. Shapiro, told the Gate. He estimated the population at around a billion.

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The butterfly, which is frequently mistaken for the monarch because of the similar colors, can move as fast a 25 mph and can go for days without stopping