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The three species of monarch butterflies are: D. plexippus, described by Linnaeus in 1758, is the species known most commonly as the monarch butterfly of North America. Its range extends worldwide, including Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, and the Pacific Islands. D. erippus, the southern monarch, was described by Pieter Cramer in 1775 ...
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 ...
The larvae of some species, such as the common Mormon and the western tiger swallowtail look like bird droppings. [72] [73] Some species of Lepidoptera sequester or manufacture toxins which are stored in their body tissue, rendering them poisonous to predators; examples include the monarch butterfly in the Americas and Atrophaneura species in ...
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 ...
Life cycle of the monarch butterfly. Butterflies in their adult stage can live from a week to nearly a year depending on the species. Many species have long larval life stages while others can remain dormant in their pupal or egg stages and thereby survive winters. [36] The Melissa Arctic (Oeneis melissa) overwinters twice as a caterpillar. [37]
Monarch caterpillars deter predators by incorporating these chemical compounds into their bodies, where the toxins remain throughout the insect's lifetime. [51] Although monarch caterpillars will feed on butterfly weed (A. tuberosa) in butterfly gardens, it is typically not a heavily used host plant for the species. [52]
Read more:Monarch butterflies proposed for threatened species status . The butterfly's Western population has plummeted more than 95% since the 1980s, when up to 4 million butterflies were ...
The leaves of Asclepias species are a food source for monarch butterfly larvae and some other milkweed butterflies. [5] These plants are often used in butterfly gardening and monarch waystations in an effort to help increase the dwindling monarch population. [21]