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Monarch
Butterfly - Danaus plexippus
Order Lepidoptera / Superfamily
Papilionoidea / Family Nymphalidae / Subfamily Danainae / Tribe Danaini /
Genus Danaus Kluk, 1802
Species Danaus plexippus (Linnaeus) -- monarch
butterfly, monarque
Live adult butterflies, caterpillars (larvae) photographed
in the wild at Winfield IL USA.
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Adult Monarch Butterfly takes nectar
at Bull Thistle Flower |
The Monarch is
easily North America's best recognized butterfly. Common
throughout the U.S. and
southern Canada, the Monarch is found just about everywhere
there are open, sunny areas. The
Monarch's caterpillars feed almost exclusively on milkweed
plants which contain toxins that render
both the larva and adult butterflies extremely distasteful
to predators. It is thought the dramatic orange
and black markings of the adult butterfly advertise its
unpalatability, detering attack. (Such coloration
is known as aposematic, or warning color). In any
event, the emetic qualities of the toxins quickly
discourage any animal foolhardy enough to eat one. The
Viceroy and
Queen butterflies sport
similar color patterns and share the same host plants -
thereby reinforcing the lesson across the species.
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Monarch caterpillar feeding on
Milkweed (Ascelpius sp.) |
Monarch Chrysalis Photo: Albert P.
Bekker
© California Academy of Sciences |
Monarch shows coiled proboscis
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Annually,
hundreds of millions of monarch butterflies from the eastern U.S. and
Canada migrate to central Mexico
- a trip of as much as 2,000 miles. There, they overwinter
in protected areas in the mountains in a state of
diapause, living off fat reserves much the same way
hibernating mammals do. Far Western and Sierra Nevada Monarchs fly to
the central and southern coasts of California, overwintering in Pacific
Grove and other locales. Winter butterflies are sluggish and do not
rproduce; they venture out in search of nectar on warm, sunny days. The winter survivors
begin their journey northward about mid-March, laying
millions of eggs in the southern U.S. As each
generation hatches, they move progressively farther north
and continue the cycle until their entire
range has been repopulated for the summer. Both Mexican and
international efforts are underway to protect the millions of Monarchs
that flock to California and Mexico. In California, nearly all the
roosting sites face pressure from development and urban sprawl.
Habitat: Open, sunny areas, especially weedy field and
meadows. Host Plants: Various milkweeds, including common
milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), scarlet milkweed (A. curassavica) and
Dogbane (Apocynum). Chrysalis is jade green, studded with gold.
Successive broods April through June progressing northward, September to
October migrating southward. Winters in coastal Monterey Pine and
Monterey Cypress, Eucalyptus groves in California and Fir forests in
Mexican mountains.
Nectar Sources:
New
England Aster
(Aster novae-angliae),
Beggarticks
(Bidens spp.),
Purple coneflower
(Echinacea purpurea),
Black-eyed
Susan
(Rudbeckia hirta),
goldenrods (Solidago spp.), and various species of thistle
(Cirsium sp.)
Range: Nearly all of North America. Absent from
Alaska and Pacific Northwest coast. Resident year-round in Hawaii,
established in Australia.Learn more
about Monarch butterfly migration
here .
Learn why genetically engineered corn is not harmful to
Monarch butterflies, at the
USDA
website.
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Queen, Soldier, and Viceroy butterflies are all believed to mimic the
Monarch butterfly. |
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