Monarch (Danaus plexippus)
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One of the most famous and easily recognized of all butterflies, the Monarch spends time around the Garden both during breeding season and when it is migrating through our area. The large size and brilliant orange color is hard to miss.
The underside of the wings is equally easy to identify, with the characteristic tan and orange set off by black veining and white spots.
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The larvae are always found on milkweed, which provides them with distasteful toxins. They are therefore free to feed out in the open even during the day.
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The larvae of the monarch, like those of the queen, vary in their proportional light and dark stripes. The caterpillar above is close to the norm, while the one below shows a good deal of black. It seems that the later caterpillars, those born during the end of the season, tend to be darker. Perhaps this is a response to the cold and the need to absorb whatever warmth is available from the sun.
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The attractive chrysalis of the monarch is one of the easier pupae to find, often located near or on the food plants. It is a gem-like green at first (below left), but changes to clear so that the orange and black colors of the butterflies wings show through (right).
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class: Insecta / order: Lepidoptera / family: Danaidae / genus: Danaus / species: plexippus
| site by larvalbug |
