Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus)
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.
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Monarch migration
Life
A 2,000 mile migration takes monarch butterflies to Mexico for hibernation.
Despite having never flown more than a few hundred metres, Canadian monarch butterflies must fly a hundred miles over the surface of Lake Erie to the relative warmth of the more 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.
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About the Monarch butterfly
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. In Europe it is resident in the Canary Islands, the Azores, and Madeira, and is found as an occasional migrant in Western Europe. 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 in the Americas which spans the life of three to four generations of the butterfly.
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Scientific Classification
Phylum: Arthropod (Arthropoda)
Genus: Danaus
Species: Monarch (butterfly) (plexippus)
Common Names
- Milkweed butterfly
- Wanderer butterfly
Where can I see them?
They can be found in the following habitats:
Elsewhere on the web
- Animal Diversity Web (animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu)
- ARKive: Images of Life on Earth (arkive.org)
- Introduction to the monarch butterfly (gpnc.org)
- Track the monarch migration (learner.org)
- Monarch butterfly life cycle (monarch-butterfly.com)
- The monarch of migration (worldwildlife.org)
- Monarch (butterfly) (wikipedia.org)
Site links
BBC links
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