Nymphalidae : Danainae
Monarch/Milkweed
DANAUS plexippus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Monarch/Milkweed
DANAUS plexippus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Kind permission - © Tim Norriss
Life Cycle Guide
Description
Wingspan: 95 - 100mm
Worldwide Range: Azores : coastal districts of Canary Is-excluding Lanzarote.,N Africa,S Portugal,S Spain- province Malaga,Mauritius, India, Papua New Guinea & other E Indian Is.,Australia,New Zealand,S Peru to Canada : N,C & S America
Distribution: Occasional vagrant/migrant to Azores : Lanzaote : S & W Portugal : Gibraltar : more rarely Ireland : SW England : S France
UK Distribution: Rare migrant mostly recorded SW England and S Ireland
UK Conservation Status -
Habitat: As a migrating species any habitat containing host plant
Similar Species -
Overwinters as: Adult
Observations: The Monarch is a large butterfly with a larger reputation for its ability to migrate long distances in a short time as well as being one of our rarest migrators.In autumn, as the weather cools, large numbers fly south from their breeding grounds in Canada,via the Gulf Coast, then to Oyamel Fir Forests of Mexico where the overwinter for three months,a distance of 2500 miles.The following February and March the process reverses as they migrate north,the females laying eggs as they go with these offspring also heading north to the Canadian breeding areas.Most of the original butterflies perish on the way, but not all.
It was first thought these butterflies used the sun to guide them to their targets but experiments have proven beyond doubt that the guidance mechanish is not in their head, but in their antennae.
The first Monarch in the British isles was in 1876 when a single specimen was recorded from Neath in south Wales. As can be seen above the first records were considered vagrants or by accidental importation on plants, something that changed when 40 were recorded in a single year proving immigration was the most likely cause.
The total numbers now recorded is approximately 900 with most appearing along the SW coast of England,Scilly Isles and southern Ireland.
In 1981 there were 131 sightings along with many North American birds which would seem to indicate migration due to heavy storms and strong winds,although with the butterfly now established in places like Spain and Portugal,the Canary Isles and Madeira the origin of the migration could be placed in doubt.
As can be seen below the Monarch larvae feed on many different species of Asclepias which produce poisons which are passed onto the adult as a defence mechanism against birds and other predators.The orange wings with black veins and white spots are used as a warning signal to the predators, a pattern used by other mimic,non poisonous butterflies of which the Viceroy Limenitis archippus is one of the well known species.
Some birds have learnt how to strip out the body contents discarding the toxic elements and can take large numbers of Monarch butterflies.
Although male and females share the same warning colouration the male can be separated by the sex brands on vein 2(V2) of the hindwing and the female usually has darker veins.
Worldwide Range: Azores : coastal districts of Canary Is-excluding Lanzarote.,N Africa,S Portugal,S Spain- province Malaga,Mauritius, India, Papua New Guinea & other E Indian Is.,Australia,New Zealand,S Peru to Canada : N,C & S America
Distribution: Occasional vagrant/migrant to Azores : Lanzaote : S & W Portugal : Gibraltar : more rarely Ireland : SW England : S France
UK Distribution: Rare migrant mostly recorded SW England and S Ireland
UK Conservation Status -
- Vagrant/Accidental
- Least Concern
- Papilio plexippus (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Papilio plexippus (Linnaeus, 1758)
- New York State - Kendall
Habitat: As a migrating species any habitat containing host plant
Similar Species -
- None
Overwinters as: Adult
Observations: The Monarch is a large butterfly with a larger reputation for its ability to migrate long distances in a short time as well as being one of our rarest migrators.In autumn, as the weather cools, large numbers fly south from their breeding grounds in Canada,via the Gulf Coast, then to Oyamel Fir Forests of Mexico where the overwinter for three months,a distance of 2500 miles.The following February and March the process reverses as they migrate north,the females laying eggs as they go with these offspring also heading north to the Canadian breeding areas.Most of the original butterflies perish on the way, but not all.
It was first thought these butterflies used the sun to guide them to their targets but experiments have proven beyond doubt that the guidance mechanish is not in their head, but in their antennae.
The first Monarch in the British isles was in 1876 when a single specimen was recorded from Neath in south Wales. As can be seen above the first records were considered vagrants or by accidental importation on plants, something that changed when 40 were recorded in a single year proving immigration was the most likely cause.
The total numbers now recorded is approximately 900 with most appearing along the SW coast of England,Scilly Isles and southern Ireland.
In 1981 there were 131 sightings along with many North American birds which would seem to indicate migration due to heavy storms and strong winds,although with the butterfly now established in places like Spain and Portugal,the Canary Isles and Madeira the origin of the migration could be placed in doubt.
As can be seen below the Monarch larvae feed on many different species of Asclepias which produce poisons which are passed onto the adult as a defence mechanism against birds and other predators.The orange wings with black veins and white spots are used as a warning signal to the predators, a pattern used by other mimic,non poisonous butterflies of which the Viceroy Limenitis archippus is one of the well known species.
Some birds have learnt how to strip out the body contents discarding the toxic elements and can take large numbers of Monarch butterflies.
Although male and females share the same warning colouration the male can be separated by the sex brands on vein 2(V2) of the hindwing and the female usually has darker veins.
Photo Gallery
Larva
Larval Food Plants Worldwide
Note - Plants hyperlinked in red below take the visitor to the relevant plant page on"Plants for a Future" website where further information like photos,physical characteristics,habitats,edible uses,medicinal uses,cultivation,propagation,range,height etc. are clearly listed.
Plant Families - in bold red below takes the visitor to the relevant "Lepi-plants" page where other butterflies & moths using the plants below are listed.
Plant Families - in bold red below takes the visitor to the relevant "Lepi-plants" page where other butterflies & moths using the plants below are listed.
- Apocynaceae : Asclepiadoideae - Dogbane Family
- Apocynum androsaemifolium - Spreading Dogbane
- Araujia sericifera - Cruel Plant, White bladderflower
- Araujia sericofera - Moth Plant, White Bladderflower
- Asclepias amplexicaulis - Blunt-leaved Milkweed, Clasping Milkweed
- Asclepias asperula - Antelope Horns, Spider milkweed, Trailing Milkweed
- Asclepias californica - California Milkweed, Greene's milkweed
- Asclepias cancellata - Cotton Milkweed
- Asclepias cordifolia - Heart-leaf Milkweed
- Asclepias curassavica - Tropical Milkweed
- Asclepias curtissii - Curtiss' Milkweed
- Asclepias eriocarpa - Woollypod Milkweed
- Asclepias erosa - Desert Milkweed
- Asclepias exaltata - Poke Milkweed
- Asclepias fascicularis - Narrow Leaved Milkweed
- Asclepias hirtella - Tall Green Milkweed
- Asclepias humistrata - Pinewoods Milkweed
- Asclepias incarnata - Swamp Milkweed, Swamp Butterfly Weed, Marsh Milkweed
- Asclepias lanceolata - Purple Silkweed, Fewflower milkweed
- Asclepias longifolia - Longleaf Milkweed
- Asclepias nivea - Caribbean Milkweed
- Asclepias obovata - Pineland Milkweed
- Asclepias oenotheroides - Sidecluster Milkweed, Zizotes Milkweed
- Asclepias perennis - Aquatic Milkweed
- Asclepias physocarpa - Balloonplant, Balloon Cotton-bush, Bishop's Balls
- Asclepias purpurascens - Purple Milkweed
- Asclepias speciosa - Showy Milkweed
- Asclepias subulata - Rush Milkweed
- Asclepias subverticillata - Whorled Milkweed
- Asclepias sullivantii - Prairie milkweed
- Asclepias syriaca - Common Milkweed, Silkweed, Milkweed
- Asclepias tomentosa - Tuba Milkweed
- Asclepias tuberosa - Pleurisy Root, Butterfly milkweed, Rolfs' milkweed, Indian Paintbrush
- Asclepias variegata - White Milkweed
- Asclepias verticillata - Horsetail Milkweed
- Asclepias vestita - Wooly Milkweed
- Asclepias viridiflora - Green Milkweed, Green comet milkweed
- Asclepias viridis - Green Antelopehorn
- Calotropis gigantea - Crown Flower
- Calotropis procera - Sodom Apple
- Cynanchum angustifolium - Gulf Coast Swallow-wort
- Cynanchum laeve - Honeyvine Milkweed
- Gomphocarpus arborescens - Broad-leaf Cotton-bush
- Gomphocarpus fruticosus - Swan Milkweed
- Gomphocarpus physocarpus - Balloonplant
- Matelea reticulata - Green Milkweed Vine,Pearl Milkweed
- Orbea variegata - Carrion Flower
- Oxypetalum coeruleum - Southern Star
- Oxypetalum umbellatum - No Common Name
- Oxystelma pulchellum - No Common Name
- Sarcostemma clausum - White Twinvine
- Stephanotis floribunda - Madagascar jasmine, waxflower
- Euphorbiaceae - Spurge Family
- Euphorbia mauritanica - Pencil Milk Bush
- Malvaceaea - The Mallow Family
- Gossypium arboreum - Levant Cotton,Tree Cotton
- Sapotaceae - Sapote Family
- Manilkara grandiflora - No Common Name
Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
Subkingdom: Phylum: Subphylum Class: Order: Superfamily: Family: Subfamily: Genus: Accepted Species Name: Type Species-DANAUS: Original Species Name: Species Name Literary Ref: Type Locality: Subspecies: |
Animalia
Eumetozoa Arthropoda Hexapoda Insecta Lepidoptera Papilionoidea Nymphalidae Danainae DANAUS Kluk 1780 Danaus plexippus (Linnaeus, 1758) - Papilio plexippus Linnaeus, 1758 - PAPILIO plexippus (Linnaeus, 1758) = Danais archippus = Papilio plexippus Linnaeus, 1758 = Danais plexippus = Anosia plexippus = Danaus (Danaus) plexippus - Syst. Nat. (Edn 10) 1 : Title page : p.471 - n.80 - New York State - Kendall - D. p. plexippus (Linnaeus,1758) - Nominate Subspecies - New York, Colorado, Texas, Missouri D. p. megalippe (Hübner, [1826]) - Nicaragua - Peru, NE.Brazil, Venezuela, French Guiana, Surinam, Guyana, Trinidad, Tobago, Galapagos D. p. leucogyne (Butler, 1884) -St Thomas - U.S. Virgin Is. D. p. nigrippus (Haensch, 1909) - Equador D. p. tobagi Clark, 1941 - Tobago D. p. portoricensis Clark, 1941 - Puerto Rico |