Monarch Butterfly Photos by Bruce Dayton - Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus)

Class: Insecta (insects)
ORDER: Lepidoptera
FAMILY: Danaidae
SPECIES: Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus)

Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus)
The Monarch Butterfly is one of the most recognized butterflies in the world. It is best known for its extremely long-distance migration. They, like birds migrate both North and South. At their winter grounds, the monarch remains almost completely inactive for several months, living on stored fat. Monarch butterflies are one of the few insects capable of making transatlantic crossings. The life expectancy of a Monarch Butterfly is 2 to 6 weeks. They are sometimes called the "milkweed butterfly." This is because that is the only thing the larvae can eat.
SIZE	The Monarch Butterfly has a wingspan of 3.5 to 5 inches.
DESCRIPTION	The Monarch Butterfly is a beautiful butterfly with reddish-orange with black vein-like markings on its wings. There is a black border around its wings with white spots on it. Like all other insects, butterflies have six legs and three main body parts: head, thorax (chest or mid section) and abdomen (tail end). They also have two antennae and an exoskeleton. Males and females are similar in appearance, but the the black veins are thicker on the female's wings.
Life Cycle	The life cycle of a Monarch includes a change of form called complete metamorphosis. The Monarch goes through four radically different stages during this process: 1st stage: EGG - the eggs are laid on milkweed plants by the females during migration. The eggs take only a few days (3 or 4) days to hatch into larvae. 2nd stage: Caterpillar - Larval stage - The eggs hatch, revealing worm-like larvae. The larvae feed on the milkweed for about two weeks. 3rd stage: CHRYSALIS - Pupa stage - At the end of the feeding period, the caterpillars attach themselves to a twig, shed their outer skin and change into a chrysalis. They remain in this stage 10-14 days. 4th stage: BUTTERFLY - At the end of the chrysalis stage, The mature butterfly emerges. The life expectancy of the adult butterfly is 2-6 weeks.
PREDATORS	The substance that Monarchs accumulate in their body during the caterpillar stage is very distasteful and toxic to birds and other predators. This defense is so effective, that it keeps predators from attacking any butterfly that even resembles the Monarch, such as the Viceroy.
Range	The monarch butterfly can be found in most of North America south of Hudson Bay down to South America. It is not found in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.
Southern Migration	Monarchs may travel thousands of miles in their massive southern migration to the coast of southern California and the high altitude areas of the Sierra Madres in central Mexico. There are populations in Florida, Texas and California that do not migrate.
Northern Migration	Monarchs are very inactive at their winter grounds. In the spring, they will reproduce and their offspring will begin the trip to the north. The original butterfly dies along the way, but the offspring it leaves behind continues on to the north.
HABITAT	In the spring and summer, the monarch butterfly's habitat is open fields and meadows with milkweed.
DIET	The caterpillars or larvae consume their egg cases, then feed on milkweed. The milkweed contain a sequester substances called cardenolides, related to the cardiac glycoside digitalis (Not all milkweeds produce cardiac glycosides). Adult butterflies gather nectar from flowers.

Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus)

The monarch butterfly is the national insect for
both the United States and Canada.

INTERESTING FACTS

Chrysalis

About 24 hours after a caterpillar attaches itself to a twig, it sheds its fifth and final skin. Under the caterpillar's final skin shed is is a green casing which is called a chrysalis. Inside the chrysalis, which is only about an inch long, the caterpillar in 10-14 days will transform into a beautiful Monarch Butterfly.

Butterfly Antennae

Butterfly antennae are a pair of slender thread-like structures with a small knob-like device at the tip. They are located on opposite sides of the butterfly's head. They are used for balance and for detecting odors (especially the smell of flowers and plants).

Exoskeleton

The supporting structure of an organism when it is on the outside of the body. Insects, crustaceans, and spiders all have exoskeletons. Birds, mammals, and reptiles have "endoskeletons," meaning they have bones on the inside.

Butterfly Caterpillar Exoskeleton

The tough outer skin or exoskeleton of the caterpillar. This is a hard substance and does not grow or stretch along with the enlarging caterpillar. Instead, the old exoskeleton is shed in a process called molting and it is replaced by a new, larger exoskeleton. A caterpillar may go through as many as four to five molts before it becomes a pupa.

NOTE: This sight will be updated as time, information and pictures become available.




Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus)


MonBtf-1892_027724	MonBtf-1892_037709