SPECIES
Monarch butterfly
Danaus plexippus
Across North America, monarch generations depend on milkweed and a remarkable seasonal migration.
A monarch butterfly starts as a caterpillar that feeds on milkweed. The adults can become part of a migration spanning vast distances.
What does a monarch butterfly eat?
milkweed as larvae; nectar as adults
Where does a monarch butterfly live?
the Americas and other regions
The milkweed beginning
Females lay eggs on milkweeds; caterpillars feed on those plants before transforming into adults.
A migration across generations
Monarchs are found across the Americas and elsewhere, while well-studied North American populations migrate between breeding and overwintering sites.
The plants a migration needs
Overwintering habitats and breeding plants are essential to sustaining migratory monarch populations.
Sources
Records of where it has been seen come live from GBIF; observed interactions from GloBI. Draft — not yet reviewed by a person.