Insects · Lepidoptera · Nymphalidae

Monarch

Danaus plexippus

Not Evaluated

It has not yet been assessed against the IUCN criteria. See full glossary

It makes one of the most extraordinary migrations in the animal kingdom: up to 4,500 km between North America and the oyamel fir forests of Mexico — a journey no single butterfly completes, but several generations do.

Weight

0 g – 1 g

Size

9 cm – 10.4 cm

Lifespan

1 years

Diet

Herbivore

Feeds mainly on plants.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Unknown

GrasslandHerbivore Diurnal Colonial Insect Grassland

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Fun facts

The caterpillars feed exclusively on milkweed (Asclepias), which makes them toxic to many predators.
The autumn migratory generation can live 6 to 9 months, far longer than the summer generations.
It overwinters in vast colonies in the oyamel forests of Mexico and in California.
comportamientoIts migration spans several generations: no single butterfly completes the round trip, and yet the generations that follow return to the very same place.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Invertebrate - chitin exoskeleton
Habitat & environment: Grassland and open country where milkweed (Asclepias spp.) grows in North America; it overwinters in the oyamel forests of Mexico and in California
Birth weight: An egg of 0.9-2.1 mm; a newly hatched larva under 1 cm
Size at birth: A mature larva of up to ~5 cm
Sexual maturity: Reaches breeding maturity a few days after emerging from the pupa
Gestation / incubation: Egg: 3-8 days | Larva: 10-14 days (5 instars) | Pupa (chrysalis): 6-14 days
Litter / clutch size: A female can lay between 100 and 500 eggs in her lifetime