Monarch Butterfly
Danaus plexippus
VulnerableFast Facts
About
The monarch butterfly is one of the most recognisable insects on Earth, its deep orange wings laced with black veins and bordered with white-spotted margins. It is celebrated above all for its extraordinary annual migration across North America.
As caterpillars, monarchs feed exclusively on milkweed, absorbing toxins that make the adults distasteful to predators, a protection advertised by their bold colours.
Behaviour
Each autumn, millions of monarchs migrate up to 4,800 kilometres from Canada and the northern United States to overwintering forests in central Mexico, clustering in such numbers that they bend the branches of fir trees.
No single butterfly completes the full round trip; the journey spans several successive generations.
Did you know?
- Monarchs migrate thousands of kilometres, yet no individual ever makes the full round trip
- Their toxicity comes from the milkweed eaten during the caterpillar stage
- The overwintering generation lives many times longer than summer adults
- Millions gather in the same Mexican forests their great-grandparents left
Distribution
The Americas, with famous populations in North America; introduced to other regions
