Monarch (NPS Catoctin Mountain Park Butterflies and Moths)

Monarch

Danaus plexippus

Summary ⁷

The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. It may be the most familiar North American butterfly. The monarch butterfly is not currently listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) or protected specifically under U.S. domestic laws. Its wings feature an easily recognizable orange and black pattern, with a wingspan of 8.9–10.2 cm (3½–4 in). (The viceroy butterfly is similar...

Habitat ⁸

D. plexippus is a predominantly open country, frost intolerant species whose range of breeding habitats is greatly dependent upon the presence of asclepiad flora (milkweeds). The monarch requires dense tree cover for overwintering, and the majority of the present sites in California are associated with Eucalyptus trees, specifically the blue gum, Eucalyptus globulus. These trees were introduced from Australia and have filled the role of native species that have been been reduced by logging.

Ecology ⁹

Can contain poison derived from their larval foodplant that helps avoid predation by birds (Scott, 1986).

Life cycle ¹⁰

Migrants from the southern US appear in the spring, and lay eggs on a number of milkweed species, particularly along prairie river valleys. Larvae are like no other in Alberta, boldly banded with alternating black, white and yellow stripes. There are two long, black fleshy 'horns' near the front and rear. Pupae are bright blue-green with golden spots. This is undoubtedly one of the most familiar butterflies in North America, and much research has been carried out on its ecology and remarkble migration. Surprisingly, the Monarch's wintering grounds in Mexico were not discovered until 1975, largely as a result of the research efforts of Fred Urquhart (Layberry et al. 1998). Almost all of the North American Monarchs overwinter in a handful of sites in the Mexican highlands, and conservation efforts for this species are largely dependent on the welfare of these sites. For more detailed accounts of the Monarch's ecology, see Brower (1995) and references therein.

Threats ¹¹

Degree of Threat: Medium

Comments: The species as a whole is not seriously threatened, but the typical subspecies may be secure mostly where it is not native. The monarch appears to be doing well or even increasing in may places, but not in its core North American range. The native eastern North American populations are in trouble at their overwintering grounds. Overwintering habitats in Mexico are primarily in a few hectares each and have been under pressure from logging, agricultural and urban development. California based populations are declining more due to problems in the breeding areas. Climate change is emerging as a current, rather than an expected, threat in Mexico, California, and Texas at least. There was some improvement in the eastern, as well as western, USA in 2010 so at least populations can still respond quickly to temporarily good conditions. Regardless of what happens in North America this species is at virtually no risk of global extinction in the forseeable future.

Sources and Credits

(c) TexasEagle, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.flickr.com/photos/10789832@N00/2972095940
(c) Kent McFarland, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8034/7921175342_b03608270b_o.jpg
(c) cyric, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by cyric
(c) Ron Payne, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ZyhaoH8aSLA/UCLglf1LxWI/AAAAAAAABOQ/E3P5Wp3_hZY/s1024/IMG_8422.JPG
(c) BJ Stacey, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2813/9082739568_10a28aa5bf_o.jpg
(c) Christy King, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by Christy King
(c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danaus_plexippus
(c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31389722
(c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28797785
(c) University of Alberta Museums, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/31887210
(c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28797776

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Monarch

Summary 7

Habitat 8

Ecology 9

Life cycle 10

Threats 11