The Gabriel Abbott Memorial School Fourth Grade

Monarch Butterfly Web Page

To explore teacher approved web sites on monarchs just click on the underlined orange text.

 

Danaus plexippus       This is sometimes called the "milkweed butterfly" because its larvae dine exclusively on this plant. Eastern populations winter in Florida, along the coast of Texas, and in Mexico, and return to the north in spring.        Monarch eggs are deposited on the underside of milkweed leaves and hatch, depending on temperature, in three to twelve days. The larvae feed on the plant leaves for about two weeks and develop into chubby caterpillars about 5 cm long. Attaching themselves head down to a convenient twig, they shed their outer skin and begin the transformation into a pupa (or chrysalis), a process which is completed in a matter of hours.       The pupa resembles a waxy, jade vase. Packed tightly inside, the caterpillar completes the miraculous process of rebirth into a beautiful adult butterfly in about two weeks. Emerging at last from the transparent case, the monarch waits until its wings stiffen and dry and then flies away to continue the propagation of the species.       In either the caterpillar or butterfly stage the monarch needs no camouflage because it takes in toxins from the milkweed and is poisonous to predators.  TAXONOMY Class: Insecta (insects) Order: Lepidoptera (butterflies) Family: Danaidae (Milkweed butterfly family) Genus: Danaus Species: Plexippus                                          Above are photos of a monarch emerging from the pupa stage.   Learn more about the life cycle of the monarch butterfly. See photos of monarchs in different stages of their life cycle. Mysterious monarchs. Butterfly Metamorphosis Photos. A monarch larva.

This map shows the different routes that migrating monarchs take each fall. Each Autumn, thousands of Monarch Butterflies gather in southern Canada to migrate south. Some of these butterflies travel over 2,900 kilometers, just to overwinter in places such as Michoacan, Mexico in a small town called Angangueo. Other Monarch Butterflies also overwinter in Cuba, and Pacific Grove, as well as Newark, California. In sanctuaries such as the one in Angangueo, Michoacan in Mexico there are millions of these gorgeous butterflies. From morning until about 1:00pm, they are most active. You can see them flying around and almost blocking the sky. You will hear the fascinating sound of their wings flapping. During their long flight there is a great danger from predators.

Learn more about the migration of the monarch.

See a sixth grader's web site on raising your own monarchs.

See what other students are learning about monarchs and their migration.

Children's Butterfly Coloring Page

More Monarch Information.

All of the images and web sites were taken off the Internet and are to be used strictly for educational purposes.