Monarch Butterfly - Danaus plexippus

by Carol Senske

Title

Monarch Butterfly - Danaus plexippus

Artist

Carol Senske

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

These pretty gems of the air are famous for their migrations. There is a special forest place in Mexico that is being destroyed by logging. That is their home, their resting place, and thousand cluster on each tree.

It takes four generations of Monarchs to complete the migratory cycle - three generations ( living two to four weeks each) to reach the northern and eastern-most parts of their range, then the fourth generation migrates all the way back to Mexico and some parts of California. This last generation lives about six to eight months as an adult.

They are a milkweed butterfly which means their caterpillars eat milkweed. The noxious taste and bad effects from the chemicals the milkweed carries makes most predators leave them alone. The parasitic wasps are not bothered by these chemicals and many caterpillars fall prey to them.

More info here:

http://www.monarch-butterfly.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarch_butterfly

This picture was taken with a Canon T4I paired with a Tamron macro lens (90mm). The location was Green Lane, Pennsylvania, USA, on August 16, 2014.

Uploaded

August 17th, 2014

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