Fun Facts

At times, the number of caterpillars feeding on the same plant is so large you can actually hear them munching.

Butterfly wings are actually clear – the colors and patterns we see are made by the reflection of the tiny scales covering them.
 

Monarch Butterfly

Danaus plexippus

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

The monarch butterfly has bright orange and black wings with white spots and is the most recognizable of the species. The wing span ranges from 3.5-4 inches.

HABITAT

The monarch butterfly can be found throughout North America and into South America. It is not found in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. The monarch has also been established in Hawaii and Australia, where it is known as the wanderer butterfly.

MIGRATION

Every year, tens of millions of monarch butterflies begin their migration to “overwintering” sites. Butterflies located to the west of the Rocky Mountains will migrate to trees along the southern California coast. Those to the east of the Rocky Mountains will fly south to the forests high in the mountains of Mexico, often traveling up to 3,000 miles in the fall. This is the farthest migration journey of any species of butterfly. The generation that begins the journey in the fall will live far longer – more than six months – to make the journey to the south. But, the same butterfly won’t complete the migration both ways. Their children and great-grandchildren are born in the overwintering sites, and along the journey back.

DIET IN THE WILD

The monarch is in the subfamily of milkweed butterflies. They lay their eggs on milkweed plants for the caterpillars (or larvae) to feed on once they hatch. Caterpillars of the milkweed butterflies can only feed on milkweed plants. Adult butterflies feed on the nectar from a variety of flowers.

BEHAVIOR

The eggs take 3-15 days to hatch into larvae. The larvae feed on the milkweed for about two weeks. Afterwards, they attach themselves to a twig, shed their outer skin and change into a chrysalis. This happens in just a few hours! In two weeks a full-grown monarch emerges!

STATUS IN THE WILD / CONSERVATION EFFORTS

Due to an effective natural defense mechanism—they are highly toxic—the monarch does a great job of protecting itself from predators. Eating just one can make a bird sick. Humans are the main threat to the number of monarchs in the wild. Their overwintering sites have been reduced or destroyed for land development. Milkweed plants, the exclusive food of monarch larvae, are considered a harmful weed and are killed herbicides. This threatens both their food supply and nesting grounds.

LIFE SPAN

The average lifespan of a monarch—from the time it hatches from the egg, to caterpillar, to chrysalis, to adult butterfly—is typically less than two months. Migratory monarchs will live longer in the adult stage, sometimes more than six months.