Monarch Butterfly
Take incredible mass migrations up to 3,000 miles south each fall! They use the sun's position and earth’s magnetism to navigate, and they can hone in on a specific tree.
Fly up to 30 mph, up to 12,000 feet high and take 8-10 weeks of daytime flight.
Adult butterflies eat nectar (sugary fluid inside flowers).
Their wings are covered in delicate scales and should never be touched.
They are important pollinators of many types of wildflowers.
Egg for 3-5 days; Larva for 2 weeks; Pupa for 10-12 days; Adult butterfly 6-8 months.
Monarch butterflies ONLY lay eggs on milkweed plant leaves, where caterpillars feed. Caterpillars absorb the slightly toxic milk sap from the milkweed in their bodies. This makes the monarch poisonous to predators.