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Scientific Name: Danaus plexippu
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Diet: Larvae feed only on plants from the milk-weed family.
Vegetation Association: Plants from the milk-weed family are very important for this species; they are used for breeding and feeding. Milk-weed plants are poisonous and by digesting them the Monarch avoids predation by birds.
Predators: Black-headed Grosbeak.
Life Stages: Complete metamorphosis; egg, larva, pupa, adult.
Notes: Can be found with or after the rains. Migrates large distances every year and can be seen in late summer and early fall during its migration. Young caterpillars feed and shed their skin, or molt. The final molt produces the pupa, and then the butterfly rests. Once free of the chrysalis, fluid from its body is pumped into its wings, the wings then are allowed to dry before it flies away to look for food and a mate. Flies with its wings in a “V” shape.
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