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The Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a well-known North American butterfly. Its wings feature an easily recognizable orange and black pattern.
The butterfly is especially noted for its lengthy annual migration. Monarch butterflies make massive southward migrations
during August through October. A northward migration takes place in the Spring. Female Monarch butterflies deposit eggs for the
next generation during these migrations. The population east of the Rocky
Mountains overwinters in Mexico, and the Western population overwinters in various
sites in central coastal California, notably in Pacific Grove, California and Santa Cruz, California. The length of these journeys far
exceeds the lifetime of any given butterfly. How the species manages to return to the same overwintering spots over a gap of
several generations remains a mystery.
This is one of the few insects to manage transatlantic crossings. A few Monarchs turn up in the far southwest of Great Britain in any year when the wind conditions are right.
The life cycle of a Monarch butterfly includes a complete change of form called complete metamorphosis. This process goes
through four radically different stages. First, as mentioned above, the eggs are laid by the females during migration. Second,
the eggs hatch, revealing a worm-like larva, (or caterpillar). The caterpillars consume their egg case, then feed on milkweed, and sequester substances called cardenolides, related to the cardiac
glycoside digitalis. The amount accumulated depends on the level present in the
milkweed. This accumulation makes the adult butterfly distasteful and poisonous to Blue
Jays and other would-be predators, and many such animals avoid consuming it. This defense is shared by the similarly
distasteful (and similar-appearing) viceroy, in an example of Mullerian
mimicry.
During the caterpillar stage, the Monarchs store energy in the form of fat and nutrients to carry them through the non-feeding
pupa stage. The third stage is the pupa, or chrysalis. The caterpillar attaches itself to a lump of material secreted on a twig or leaf. It hangs upside down
in the shape of a 'J', and then molts, leaving itself encased in an articulated green exoskeleton. At this point, hormonal
changes occur, leading to the development of a butterfly. Fourth, the mature butterfly emerges after about two weeks.
The species was described by Carolus Linnaeus in 1758.
The monarch butterfly is the state insect of Texas and the state butterfly of Minnesota.
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