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Monarch Butterfly
Danaus plexippus
{Species
Archive Index}
photo by © Ginger Allen, Univ. of FL.
Width- 3.5 - 4"
Identifiers- Upperside of male is bright orange with black borders and
black veins.
Upperside of female is orange-brown with wide black borders and blurred black veins.
Adaptations- milkweed eaten by caterpillars makes adults distasteful to
birds
Status- common Florida butterfly
Distribution- South Canada, through United States, Central America, and
most of S. America.
Also present in Australia, Hawaii, and other Pacific Islands.
Habitat- Many open habitats including fields, meadows, weedy areas,
marshes, and roadsides
Diet- host plants: milkweeds, nectar plants: all
milkweeds, dogbane, lantana, goldenrods, blazing stars.
Fun facts- In the spring the population east of the Rockies are found in
the southern United States.
By late spring, most have left the Gulf coastal states and are breeding in Minnesota and
Massachusetts.
Pop. travels over 3000 miles and over 6 generations!
{Species
Archive Index} |
