Fun Facts About The Monarch Butterfly
Interesting facts about the monarch butterfly.
Fun facts about the monarch butterfly. Monarchs live in north central and south america as well as australia some pacific islands western europe and india. Here s 10 monarch butterfly facts that will show these butterflies are just as interesting as they are beautiful. It occurs on the leaf of a milkweed plant where the female secretes a bit of glue to attach each one. 10 amazing facts about the monarch butterfly.
Females have darker veins on their wings and males have a spot on the center of each hindwing. The monarch butterflies are large beautifully colored butterflies that are easy to recognize by their striking orange black and white markings. A large one can devour a whole milkweed leaf in under four minutes. That s equivalent to 4828 kilometres.
Monarch will lay their eggs on the underside of leaves. The average butterfly flaps its wings around 20 times per second. In the usa they travel 3 000 miles every year. The physical appearances of both the male and the female monarchs differ from each other.
Monarch butterfly facts infographics the monarch butterfly s life cycle begins when a female lays each of her eggs individually. A female butterfly lands on different plants drumming the leaves with her feet until the plant releases its juices. High flying even though they are light and fragile creatures monarchs are capable of flying to extreme altitudes. About the monarch butterfly the monarch butterfly is one of the most recognizable and well studied butterflies on the planet.
Monarch butterflies are known as the wanderer butterflies in australia. This annual migration starts in north east united states and canada and finishes in. These butterflies are easily distinguishable due to the pattern seen on their wings. The butterflies eat both the leaves and flowers of the milkweed plant.
Different populations live in different regions some of which participate in long migrations. They have a very distinct orange and black pattern. Monarch butterflies have a body size of 10 cm including wings fact 2. Monarchs weigh just about half a gram with the smallest monarch weighing 0 27g and the biggest monarch weighing 0 75g.
Usually female monarch butterflies lay 300 500 eggs over a period of 2 5 weeks. Spines on the back of her legs have chemoreceptors that detect the right match of plant chemicals. This is especially helpful for migrating populations. One of the most particularly interesting monarch butterfly facts is that the caterpillar may consume the skin that it sheds in 4 of its 5 molts.
Butterflies have taste receptors on their feet to help them find their host plants and locate food. A butterfly of any biological sex will also step on its food using organs that sense dissolved sugars to taste. The caterpillar hatches from its egg several days later and survives on these milkweed leaves. The monarch butterfly on the other hand flaps its wings around 5 to 12 times a second.
The monarch caterpillar is a gluttonous eater the caterpillar of a monarch butterfly is a ravenous eater. Its orange wings are laced with black lines and bordered with white. When she identifies the right plant she lays her eggs. They are also called milkweed butterflies because their larvae are known to eat only the milkweed plant.
During flight they can soar up to 10 000 ft. They are scientifically known as danaus plexippus.