Butterflies have been sought out by collectors, photographers and wildlife enthusiasts for centuries! One of the most well distributed and well known of all butterflies is the Monarch Butterfly.
Monarch Butterflies range throughout most of the United States and in neighboring countries. Some migratory Monarchs make long migrations that span several generations per one-way trip. This means an adult will die during migration and the next generation will pick up where the parent left off.
The host plant for these butterflies is milkweed. Milkweed has a milky substance within the flower that is very nasty and even poisonous to most insects, but it doesn’t affect the Monarchs. Monarch Butterflies start life after an adult lays an egg on the leaves of a milkweed plant. The egg hatches into a larva and forms a caterpillar. The caterpillar will munch on the leaves of the milkweed, at times eating all of the plant above the ground.
Once the caterpillar is large enough, it will travel to find a harder substrate to form a pupa–also referred to as a chrysalis. An adult will eventually emerge from the Pupa starting the cycle all over again!
Look for milkweed like this Scarlett Milkweed (pictured) in area parks. If you find it, you will likely see the Monarch Butterflies too!