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Statistics
The monarch butterfly (or Danaus plexippus) is found in a wide range worldwide but is most commonly seen in North and South America.
Its wings are orange-red with prominent black veins, lined with thick black edges and white spots. Their legs and antennae are black, and their body is black with white spots. Monarch caterpillars have a plump body covered with yellow, black and white stripes and the chrysalises are green with gold accents.
Monarchs have a wingspan of 8.9cm to 10.2cm and weigh approximately 0.5g.
- Some populations of monarch butterflies are migratory and will migrate over 4800km from Canada and the Northern USA to Mexico. It may take 4 generations of butterflies to complete this round trip.
- During the migration of the monarch butterfly, thousands of butterflies will cluster together to create the ideal temperature for themselves.
- When male monarch butterflies attempt to court and mate with females, 30% of the time they will accidentally grab a male and attempt to mate with him.
- Monarch butterfly caterpillars feed on poisonous milkweed which makes them toxic to predators. The orange/red colour of the adults is thought to signal danger for this reason.
- During the caterpillar stage, a monarch caterpillar will eat 200 times its bodyweight in milkweed.
Habitat
Minimum habitat requirements
Environment
Preferred group ranges
Social
Non-migratory monarch butterflies are solitary for most of the year, while those who do migrate will cluster in massive swarms of up to 10,000 individuals.
Release
Conservation
The nominate subspecies of the monarch, which migrates across North America each year, is categorised as Vulnerable, while the global species is considered of Least Concern. Due to consequences of climate change, habitat loss and universal use of pesticides, the population of monarch butterflies has declined by 80% in the past 30 years. The monarch commonly overwinters in forests, however widespread deforestation means that hibernating butterflies are more likely to die of exposure to the elements or predators. The monarch butterfly is regularly bred in captivity for butterfly houses.
Conservation initiatives are encouraging habitat protection in Mexico to mitigate issues with overwintering. Eco-tourism and education around overwintering sites are becoming increasingly common. Institutions and volunteer efforts are collecting data and exploring further conservation actions.
While the non-migratory monarch is widespread and not at risk, the migratory monarch butterfly has only recently stabilised its long term population decline – it remains at low risk of extinction due to random low-probability events.
Research
Conservation topics
Life
Reproduction
Lifecycle
Breeding
Mating occurs in the Spring months for the monarch butterfly, which are different depending on whether they live in the Northern or Southern hemisphere. A female monarch that is ready to mate will release pheromones to attract males. She will be pursued by a male in the air, who will attempt to pull her to the ground. If he succeeds, they engage in a courtship ritual, during which he produces a spermatophore and presents it to the female. She may choose to fertilise her eggs with it or feed on it for nutrients. As she is more likely to accept one of the later spermatophores presented to her, males generally attempt to mate as close to dusk as possible in order to maximise their chances of reproductive success.
Once her eggs are fertilised, the female finds milkweed plants on which to lay her eggs one by one, up to 300 in total. 4 days after laying, monarch caterpillars hatch and begin feeding on the milkweed. Following a 2 week feeding period, the caterpillars pupate.
After a 9 to 15 day pupation, the adult monarch butterflies emerge from their chrysalises. Depending on the time of year, the adults may begin looking for a mate or a place to hibernate. As monarchs die after mating, those who hibernate before may live up to 9 months.