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Few insects are as beloved as the monarch butterfly. These fascinating creatures are beautiful, boldly colored and surprisingly strong — the North American monarch migrating thousands of miles ...
The monarch butterfly or simply monarch (Danaus plexippus) is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. [6] Other common names, depending on region, include milkweed , common tiger , wanderer , and black-veined brown . [ 7 ]
A. incarnata is therefore often planted in butterfly gardens and monarch waystations to help sustain the butterfly's populations. [ 58 ] [ 59 ] However, A. incarnata is an early successional plant that usually grows at the margins of wetlands and in seasonally flooded areas.
The monarch butterfly is easily identified by its bold orange, black and white coloring. This fascinating insect goes through an amazing life cycle consisting of four stages: egg, larvae, pupa ...
Dryas iulia has also been observed agitating the eyes of caimans and turtles in order to force tear production, which the male butterflies of the species can drink for minerals. The minerals, which can also be obtained from more typical mud-puddling behavior, are used for the butterfly's spermatophores during sexual reproduction. [24]
A monarch butterfly feeding on milkweed. (Shutterstock) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is pushing for added protections for the monarch butterfly after seeing a population decline of about 80%.
More than 450 insect species feed on A. syriaca, including flies, beetles, ants, bees, wasps, and butterflies.It is among the most important food sources for monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) caterpillars in the northeastern and midwestern United States and is one of only three milkweed species on which the eastern monarch migration largely depends.
Cynanchum laeve is a food plant of caterpillars of monarch butterflies. [4] [14] Larvae of Euchaetes egle, the milkweed tussock moth, both in the Eastern and Western United States consume C. laeve. The larvae of these moths eat Cynanchum laeve and other plants when developing. [5]