Danaus plexippus is a well-known insect, which is commonly called the Monarch Butterfly.  A Monarch Butterfly’s wingspan is 8.6-12.4 cm.  Caterpillars eat and grow until they form a chrysalis, then they will change into a butterfly.  The entire process from egg to butterfly is called metamorphosis.   They are tawny orange so they are easy to spot.  You can easily identify them because of their bright color; orange with black veins and border.  This bright color serves as a warning to predators that they are unpleasant to eat. 

 

As larva they mainly eat the leaves of milkweed plants, and their body absorbs the poisons of the milkweed plant.  The adult butterflies eat the nectar of flowering plants.  The poisons they absorbed from the milkweed plant can cause severe vomiting in the animal that eats either the larva or the adult butterfly. The monarch butterfly has many predators; the small predators that eat the eggs, and larva include ants, mites, spiders and wasps. 

 

Monarch butterflies mainly live in places where the milkweed plant grows.  They usually live in Southern Canada, to Northern United States.  In the spring and summer, the monarch butterfly's habitat is open fields and meadows with milkweed. In winter they migrate to the coast of southern California and at high altitudes in central Mexico.

 

The Monarch butterfly population is decreasing due to the loss of habitat caused by illegal logging, and spraying of pesticides affecting the milkweed plants in Mexico.

 

Some facts about the Monarch butterfly that I found interesting are they are sometimes called the Milkweed butterfly.  They have 4 different stages of their life, egg, larva, caterpillar, and adult butterfly.  Finally, I found it interesting that they migrate several times a year covering thousands of miles.

 

Author: Cameron K

Published: 02/2010

 

Sources:

Monarch Butterfly Web. 13 Feb. 2010. < http://www.trillian.com/animals/butterfy.htm>.

Kidzone - Fun Facts for Kids! Web. 12 Feb. 2010. <http://kidzone.ws>.

Monarch Watch. Web. 15 Feb. 2010. <http://monarchwatch.org>.

Wikipedia. Web. 12 Feb. 2010. <http://wikipedia.org>.

Harrelson, Kenneth D. Monarch in may. 2007. Photograph.

Jason. A male monarch butterfly. 2008. Photograph.

 Kurtz, Robert W. Monarch Butterfly. 2008. Photograph. Pismo Beach, CA.