Facts about Monarch Butterflies

As the tiny butterfly opened its wings and set off on yet another flight into the beautiful garden, I wondered about the beauty of these amazing beings! Its wings unfolded one of the most beautiful designs and the various numbers of patterns I saw on the many butterflies fluttering out there made me wonder about the total number of species! No matter what their size, butterflies seem to me as one of the most beautiful creations by God and when a stray one happens to enter my home late night, I always fear this gentle and fragile creature may not be able to find its way back home.

The Monarch butterfly is one of the most well known butterflies in North America. Monarch butterfly’s were known in Australia since 1871. It had been found in New Zealand in the 19th century. It can also be considered as one of the easily recognizable insect in North America! If you are looking out to know more about these butterflies then you can check out some of the interesting facts about Monarch butterflies given below!

Interesting Facts about Monarch Butterflies:
Monarch butterflies are known as the wanderer butterflies in Australia. They are also known scientifically as Danaus plexippus. It is also known as the Milkweed butterfly because the larvae of the Monarch butterfly are known to eat only the milkweed plant.

Monarch butterflies are also easily distinguishable due to pattern seen on their wings. These have a very distinct orange and black pattern; females have darker veins on their wings and males have a spot on the center of each hindwing.

A few of the characteristics of the Monarch butterfly are similar to some other species of butterflies such as the Jamaican monarch and the southern monarch.

Yet another interesting fact about Monarch butterflies is that it can migrate over 3,100 kilometers.

There have been many theories about the origins of the name. Samuel H. Scudder published the term Monarch in 1874 since it was used to suggest it as the largest of the butterflies. Others feel the name Monarch may be given in honor of the Prince of Orange- King William.

It is a known fact that around 5 million Monarch butterflies from areas of North America travel to smaller sites that are scattered along the coast of California. These beautiful butterflies also follow the same migration pattern every year.

Amongst all the insects seen, Monarch Butterflies are known for their capacity of making transatlantic crossings.

The female Monarch butterfly can lay up to hundreds of eggs on a single plant.

When in the stage of migration, Monarch butterflies use drafts of warm air that helps them glide in the air. This process in turn helps them to conserve energy required for their long flights.

It is also believed the Monarch butterfly uses the magnetic field of the earth to migrate. They also depend on the position of the sun as well.

The adult Monarch butterfly drinks nectar from a variety of species of flowers. This nectar proves to be the vital source of energy for these butterflies.

The mating period for the Monarch butterfly occurs in spring. The courtship period is fairly simple.

The Monarch butterflies are foul tasting and poisonous as well. This is due to the presence of certain cardenolide aglycones in the body, which is ingested when the butterfly feeds on milkweed.

As a caterpillar, the Monarch butterfly feeds on milkweed but once it turns into an adult butterfly, nectar is the main source for food.

Monarch butterflies are known to live in prairies, meadows, grasslands etc.

In Mexico, there have been observations that suggest the Monarch butterfly sleeps in the winter in the branches and trunks of fir trees. Sometimes, due to a large group of these Monarch butterflies, a branch may tend to get heavy with the weight, which results in the breaking of the branch.