Monarch Butterflies

The Monarch Butterflies are from the Nymphalidae family of butterflies. They are one of the largest butterflies and are very commonly found because of which it gets the name, “Monarch”. These butterflies are easily recognized by the orange and black patterned wings. Its wingspan ranges from 8.9 to 10.2 cms. And just so you know, the male monarch butterflies are larger in size than the female monarchs.

Life Cycle:

The Monarch Butterflies goes through four stages during one life cycle-

* Egg: The eggs are laid on milkweed plants in March and April (spring and summer breeding months).

* Larvae: The egg is hatched in four days, forming the larvae called caterpillars. The caterpillar eats the egg case and the milkweed plant. During this stage, the monarchs store fat and nutrients in the form of energy to carry them to the next stage. This stage lasts for about two weeks.

* Pupa: In this stage the fully grown caterpillar attaches itself on a twig, leaf, etc and spins a silk pad around it. It gets wrapped around in a cocoon called the pupa or chrysalis. It then hangs from this pad with the support of the last pair of its prolegs. Hormonal changes occur during this stage and this process is known as metamorphosis. The pupa becomes transparent a day before and emerges, revealing its orange and black wings.

* Adult butterfly: The mature butterfly emerges and hangs from the split pupa till its wings are dry. During this time fluids are pumped into the wings to make it full and stiff. Finally the Monarch Butterflies, spreads its wings and flies away. It then gets its nourishment by feeding on variety of flowers which includes milkweed flowers, goldenrod and red clover.

Migration

The Monarch butterflies cannot survive winters, which is prevalent throughout America. Therefore during the winter season, they start migrating towards the South and the West during autumn until the first frost. They hibernate in the warm weathers of Mexico and some parts of Southern California where their ancestors migrated the previous spring. They also hibernate in the same trees; oyamel fir tree if they migrate to Mexico and eucalyptus tress if they are in California. It is amazing how the monarchs travel over 2500 miles each year to the place they have never seen before.

Lifespan

The normal lifespan of adult Monarch Butterflies of the first three generations (which are born in early summer) is around 2-6 weeks, while the fourth generation Monarch can live up to eight months because of the long migration habit.

The Monarch butterflies are fascinating species which has four generations in a year. It forms one of the largest groups of butterflies and is known to be the most beautiful of all butterflies.