Wildlife
Monarch butterflies perform one of the world's most spectacular, annual, long-distance migrations. As autumn approaches millions leave the breeding grounds in the north and head south to wintering grounds - although it is subsequent generations that complete the return journey in the spring. The monarch's orange colour is a warning for predators to stay away, as the chemicals they get from feeding on milkweed plants makes the butterflies poisonous.
Scientific name: Danaus plexippus
Rank: Species
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Kings of long-haul
Monarch butterflies cover thousands of miles from Canada to Mexico.
Monarch butterflies cover thousands of miles from Canada to Mexico.
Monarch migration
A 2,000 mile migration takes monarch butterflies to Mexico for hibernation.
Despite never having flown more than a few hundred metres, Canadian monarch butterflies - one of the world's masters of migration - fly over the surface of Lake Erie to the relative warmth of the southern forests. Joined by monarchs from all over North America, they coat the trees as they sit out the winter, waiting to burst into life once more.
The Monarch butterfly can be found in a number of locations including: Africa, North America, South America. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.
The following habitats are found across the Monarch butterfly distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.
Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
The Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae), in the family Nymphalidae. It is perhaps the best known of all North American butterflies. Since the 19th century, it has been found in New Zealand, and in Australia since 1871 where it is called the Wanderer. It is resident in the Canary Islands, the Azores, and Madeira, and is found as an occasional migrant in Western Europe and a rare migrant in the United Kingdom. Its wings feature an easily recognizable orange and black pattern, with a wingspan of 8.9–10.2 centimetres (3½–4 in). (The Viceroy butterfly has a similar size, color, and pattern, but can be distinguished by an extra black stripe across the hind wing.) Female Monarchs have darker veins on their wings, and the males have a spot called the "androconium" in the center of each hind wing from which pheromones are released. Males are also slightly larger.
The Monarch is famous for its southward migration and northward return in summer from Canada to Mexico and Baja California which spans the life of three to four generations of the butterfly.
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Migration
Egg layer
Poisonous
Semelparous
Swarming