Monarch

Description:

Wing Span: 3 3/8 - 4 7/8 inches (8.6 - 12.4 cm) Coloring: Male is bright orange with wide black borders and black veins. Female is orange-brown with wide black borders and blurred black veins. Both sexes have white spots on borders and apex. (Info from www.butterfliesandmoths.org)

Habitat:

Many open habitats including fields, meadows, weedy areas, marshes, and roadsides. Southern Canada south through all of the United States, Central America, and most of South America. Also present in Australia, Hawaii, and other Pacific Islands. Caterpillars eat a variety of milkweeds, the poisons of which it stores in its body, making it distasteful to predators. Adults also eat the nectar of milkweed. In the spring before milkweed is in bloom, they will also eat variety of flowers including dogbane, lilac, red clover, lantana, and thistles. In the fall they eat composites including goldenrods, blazing stars, ironweed, and tickseed sunflower. (Info from www.butterfliesandmoths.org)

Notes:

We live on a relatively open farm in Northern Minnesota. Lots of milkweed grows in our pastures, and my mom's favorite flower is lilacs, so we have many lilac bushes in our yard. (Which is where I photographed this one.) These factors make our home an ideal habitat for the monarch, and consequently we see many throughout the summer. They are so beautiful, and always brighten my day a little! I love butterflies!