DOCSLIB.ORG

The Monarch Butterfly (Danaus Plexippus)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Monarch Butterfly (Danaus Plexippus) U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service The Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) Together we can save this majestic species Introduction Monarch butterflies are one of the markings are a dull orange, while monarchs begin migrating they will most recognizable and remarkable males have a much brighter orange mate and females will look for butterfly species in North America. coloration and a black spot on each milkweed plants on which to lay their Their bright coloration serves to warn hind wing. Caterpillars have yellow, eggs. The adults will live for only a predators that they are poisonous. white, and black bands. few weeks. The eggs will hatch into Monarchs become poisonous by catepillars after four days. The ingesting milkweed, their larval host catepillars then feed on the milkweed plant. Monarch females lay eggs on plants over two weeks as they grow. the underside of milkweed leaves. The Once they have reached the eggs hatch into caterpillars that eat the appropriate size, the catepillars will leaves, accumulating poisons that will form a chrysalis and transform into a remain in their bodies for the butterfly after two more weeks. This remainder of their lives. These new generation of monarchs will extraordinary butterflies migrate continue north, repeating this cycle thousands of miles over multiple Female monarch. Photo by Michael every few weeks until the final generations. Unfortunately, due to O’Brien generation of monarchs migrate back increased use of pesticides and habitat to Mexico where they will overwinter, loss, this incredible species’ survival multiple generations after their is now at risk. forefathers migrated. Threats to survival Monarchs face a number of threats to their survival. Monarchs can only successfully reproduce using plants in Male monarch. Photo by Michael the milkweed family. Loss of these O’Brien plants means the loss of the monarch. Another serious threat is loss of habitat, both in their summer breeding range and in their overwintering range. Additionally, the increased use of herbicides and pesticides can kill caterpillers and butterflies as well as the milkweed plants. Futhermore, a monarch parasite, Ophryocystis Monarch roost. Photo by Michael Caterpillar. Photo by USFWS NJFO O’Brien elektroscirrha (OE), causes Life Cycle disfigurement, weakness, and Description untimately death. It is passed between males and females during mating as Monarch butterflies are bright orange Monarch butterflies that occur in New well as from parent to offspring. This with black and white markings and a Jersey overwinter in Mexico before parasite occurs naturally in monarch wingspan of 3 ½ -4 inches. Female migrating north in early spring. Once U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service www.fws.gov/northeast/njfieldoffice/index/.html August 2015 populations but human activities, such Monarch mimics as unknowingly distributing captive reared monarchs that are infected, can Monarchs are North America’s most help to spread this parasite. If you are identifable butterfly, but there is raising monarchs it is best to wait a another butterfly that is easily generation before distributing them to confused with it. The viceroy butterfly ensure that the population is not mimics the monarch’s coloring as a infected. way of protecting itselt. By mimicing monarch’s coloring, viceroys trick How you can help predators into believing that they are poisonous too. The easiest way to tell Plant milkweed Butterflyweed prefers well-drained soils. these two species apart is to look for Monarchs cannot survive without Photo by Greg Kramos the horizontal band on the bottom of milkweed. Female monarchs only lay the viceroy’s wings. Create pollinator habitat their eggs on milkweed, which then serves as the food source for the Adult monarch butterflies are not as caterpillars. The most commonly and limited in their food sources as their easily obtained milkweed species caterpillar stage and will feed on a native to New Jersey are: common wide range of nectar plants. You do milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), swamp not need a lot of room to create your milkweed (A. incarnata), and own pollinator habitat, even just a few butterflyweed (A. tuberosa). It is best square feet is sufficient. Make sure that your garden is in a sunny spot to plant milkweed seeds in the fall, scattering them ¼- ½ inch apart and that has some shelter from wind. Plant Viceroy. Photo by Alex Galt, USFWS covering with a ¼ inch of soil. a variety of native nectar plants that have staggered bloom times so that How we can help the pollinators will have a food source throughout the breeding and migration The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Partners seasons. Remove non-native species for Fish and Wildlife program may to make room for more native plants. be able to help with large scale Consider converting lawn into habitat restoration projects on private pollinator habitat and try to use or public land that benefit monarchs. alternatives to herbicides and For more information on the Partners pesticides. program visit the New Jersey Field Office on the web at: http://www.fws.gov/northeast/njfield office/index.html For additional information visit: http://www.monarchjointventure.org/ Common milkweed prefers well drained soils. Photo by Amber Rhodes http://www.fws.gov/savethemonarch/ http://monarchwatch.org/ Rain gardens, like this one, are a great way to create pollinator habitat while also improving water quality. Photo by Swamp milkweed prefers damp, marshy Amber Rhodes areas. Photo by Tom Koerner U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service www.fws.gov/northeast/njfieldoffice/index/.html August 2015 .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Monarch Butterfly, Danaus Plexippus Linnaeus (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Danainae)1 Andrei Sourakov2
    EENY-442 Monarch Butterfly, Danaus plexippus Linnaeus (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Danainae)1 Andrei Sourakov2 Introduction The monarchs, Danaus plexippus Linnaeus, are among the best known of the world’s butterflies due to their remark- able ability to migrate, wide distribution, and charismatic appearance. The last Pleistocene glaciations in North America instigated migration to Mexico in the east and to the Californian coast and deserts in the west. In the western U.S., the overwintering colonies are smaller and more numerous, while in Mexico, they are few but more spectacular, with billions of butterflies concentrating in one spot. Distribution Danaus plexippus is found throughout the Americas and Australia, with individuals reported in New Guinea and Western Europe. Sedentary populations that are found in Mexico, and Central and South America (including the Caribbean islands) are somewhat different from migratory Figure 1. Adult monarchs, Danaus plexippus Linnaeus, from Gainesville, populations of D. p. plexippus found in North America. Florida. Several subspecies, such as M. p. megalippe (Mexico, Credits: Andrei Sourakov, Florida Museum of Natural History southern U.S.) and M. p. menippe (South America) have Description been described. Monarchs fly from sea level up to 2,500 meters. Orange-and-black warning coloration of monarchs is noticeable, and its memorable pattern is directed at Some of the D. p. plexippus reach Cuba instead of Mexico, repelling insectivorous birds. Experiments conducted with where they mix with the resident population of D. p. captive blue jays showed that monarchs indeed are toxic megalippe, from which they noticeably differ in behavior (Brower et al. 1968). Being distasteful due to ingestion by and wing length and shape (Dockx 2007).
    [Show full text]
  • Danaus Plexippus)
    1. Species: Monarch (butterfly) (Danaus plexippus) 2. Status: Table 1 summarizes the current status of this species or subspecies by various ranking entity and defines the meaning of the status. Table 1. Current status of Danaus plexippus. Entity Status Status Definition NatureServe G4 Species is Apparently Secure At fairly low risk of extinction or elimination due to an extensive range and/or many populations or occurrences, but with possible cause for some concern as a result of local recent declines, threats, or other factors. CNHP S5 Species is Secure At very low risk or extinction or elimination due to a very extensive range, abundant populations or occurrences, and little to no concern from declines or threats. Colorado None N/A State List Status USDA Forest R2 Sensitive Region 2 Regional Forester’s Sensitive Species Service USDI FWSb None N/A a Colorado Natural Heritage Program. b US Department of Interior Fish and Wildlife Service. The 2012 U.S. Forest Service Planning Rule defines Species of Conservation Concern (SCC) as “a species, other than federally recognized threatened, endangered, proposed, or candidate species, that is known to occur in the plan area and for which the regional forester has determined that the best available scientific information indicates substantial concern about the species' capability to persist over the long-term in the plan area” (36 CFR 219.9). This overview was developed to summarize information relating to this species’ consideration to be listed as a SCC on the Rio Grande National Forest, and to aid in the development of plan components and monitoring objectives.
    [Show full text]
  • Monarch (Danaus Plexippus) in Canada
    Species at Risk Act Management Plan Series Management Plan for the Monarch (Danaus plexippus) in Canada Monarch 2016 Recommended citation: Environment and Climate Change Canada. 2016. Management Plan for the Monarch (Danaus plexippus) in Canada. Species at Risk Act Management Plan Series. Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa. iv + 45 pp. For copies of the management plan, or for additional information on species at risk, including the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) Status Reports, residence descriptions, action plans, and other related recovery documents, please visit the Species at Risk (SAR) Public Registry1. Cover illustration: Monarch © Karine Bériault 2007 Également disponible en français sous le titre « Plan de gestion du monarque (Danaus plexippus) au Canada » © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada, 2016. All rights reserved. ISBN 978-1-100-25735-8 Catalogue no. En3-5/71-2016E-PDF Content (excluding the illustrations) may be used without permission, with appropriate credit to the source. 1 http://sararegistry.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=24F7211B-1 Management Plan for the Monarch 2016 PREFACE The federal, provincial, and territorial government signatories under the Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk (1996)2 agreed to establish complementary legislation and programs that provide for effective protection of species at risk throughout Canada. Under the Species at Risk Act (S.C. 2002, c.29) (SARA), the federal competent ministers are responsible for the preparation of management plans for listed Special Concern species and are required to report on progress within five years after the publication of the final document on the SAR Public Registry.
    [Show full text]
  • Propagating Native Milkweeds for Restoring Monarch Butterfly Habitat©
    Propagating Native Milkweeds for Restoring Monarch Butterfly Habitat© Thomas D. Landis and R. Kasten Dumroese 3248 Sycamore Way, Medford, Oregon 97504-9005, USA Email: [email protected] The number of monarch butterflies, charismatic nomads of North America, is rapidly declining. Milkweeds (Asclepias spp.), which are the sole food source for monarch caterpillars, have also experienced a decline throughout the breeding range of this butterfly. Milkweeds can be grown from seeds or vegetatively from root cuttings or rhizomes. Seed germination is often improved with stratification and plants are easily grown with standard propagation methods. However, some species require adjustments to the substrate to reflect unique soil conditions of their natural habitat. We encourage you to grow and outplant milkweeds to create habitat for monarch butterflies and help restore their populations. THE POPULATION CRASH OF MONARCH BUTTERFLIES The causes behind the decline in pollinators are many, but most can be related either directly or indirectly to human activity. Habitat loss is always near the top of the list ― habitat destruction or fragmentation into small, disperse patches threatens all types of insect pollinators (Mader et al., 2011). Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) are, however, an interesting example of pollinator decline because, unlike many other organisms that rely on one specialized habitat, adult monarchs are generalists that thrived all across North America ― that is, until recently. With its large size and striking orange and black coloration, the monarch butterfly has been considered the most well-known butterfly in the world (Commission for Environmental Cooperation, 2008). The monarch is a tropical butterfly that readily recolonizes much of temperate North America through annual migrations.
    [Show full text]
  • January 2016 the Plight of the Monarch Conservation Legacy
    CONSERVATION LEGACY MAKING A DIFFERENCE The Plight of the Monarch Article and Photos by CLINTON FAAS (Writer's note: TWA’s Conservation Initiatives promote landscape-level conservation of habitat and species as well as address current issues affecting landowners in Texas. Through monitoring and working with state, federal and non-governmental organizations, TWA aims to provide relevant and up-to-date information for its members regarding these topics. The Monarch Butterfly represents one such topic that allows land managers to come together with many focus groups to reach a common conservation goal in the management of a declining species.) t’s an iconic species — one that doesn’t require a background in entomology to identify. The orange andI black wing pattern is easily recognizable to anyone that has ever watched a butterfly flutter past. Although there are imitators, the Monarch (Danaus plexippus) is one of the most well known butterflies in the United States. It brings back a sense of nostalgia for many of us: thoughts of insect collections as a kid and mason jars with holes poked in the metal lids, the coming of fall and the arrival of spring and, even if unknowingly, a connection to wildlife in a busy, urbanized world. But where have they gone? And, some may ask, “Why does it even matter?” As recently as the 1990s, an estimated one billion monarchs made the migration south, through Texas and into Mexico. A 2013 count revealed that the long-term average number may have declined up to 90 percent in the last 20 years, leaving the total United States population at around The iconic Monarch butterfly is easily recognizable with its black and orange wing pattern.
    [Show full text]
  • Monarch (Danaus Plexzppus L. Nymphalidae) Migration, Nectar Resources and Fire Regimes in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas
    Journal of the Lepidopteristv' Society 60(3),2006, 165-170 MONARCH (DANAUS PLEXZPPUS L. NYMPHALIDAE) MIGRATION, NECTAR RESOURCES AND FIRE REGIMES IN THE OUACHITA MOUNTAINS OF ARKANSAS D. CRAIGRUDOLPH, CHARLES A. ELY,RICHARD R. SCHAEFER,J. HOWARD WILLIAMSON, AND RONALDE. THILL wildlife Habitat and Silviculture Laboratoly (maintained in cooperation with the Arthur Temple College of Forestry, Stephen F. Austin State University), Southern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, 506 Hayter Street, Nacogdoches, Texas 75965 USA Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT. Monarchs (Danau.~plexippus) pass through the Ouachita Mountains in large numbers in September and October on their annual migration to overwintering sites in the Transvolcanic Belt of central Mexico. Monarchs are dependent on nectar resources to fuel their migratory movements. In the Ouachita Mountains of west-central Arkansas migrating monarchs obtain nectar from a variety of plant species, especially Bidens uristosa and other composites. Fire suppression has greatly altered the structure of forest communities with major implica- tions for ecological relationships. Sites that are undergoing restoration to a shortleaf pine-bluestem grass community following thinning and fre- quent prescribed fire, and thought to closely resemble pre-European conditions, support increased abundances of nectar resources and migrating monarchs compared to untreated controls. These results suggest that widespread fire-suppression since the early 1900s has substan- tially reduced nectar production for migrating monarchs in the Ouachita Mountains Physiographic Region. Additional key words: Interior Highlands, surveys, restoration The eastern North American population of the Ouachita Mountains until the early 20th century (Foti & monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus L., undertakes one Glenn 1991). Since the original harvest of these pine of the most remarkable migrations of any lepidopteran forests, most forested sites have been altered using (Urquhart 1976, Brower & Malcolm 1991).
    [Show full text]
  • Service Projects for the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail the U.S
    U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Service Projects for the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Florida Piedmont Partners for Monarchs are Service is partnering St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge has distributing milkweed to various partners built a greenhouse with college volunteers to be planted in existing fields, power and is propagating local milkweed for lines, and edges. with the Rosalynn Carter planting in schoolyard habitats. They also plan to create 10-15 new schoolyard The Asheville Ecological Services Office Butterfly Trail to restore habitats to create a coastal monarch trail. is collaborating with Monarch Watch to create monarch habitat on 20 school, important habitat for the Georgia business, and public community sites The Georgia Ecological Services Office with educational signage. They will monarch butterfly. Together is working with the Environmental also be propagating milkweed plants Education Alliance and National Wildlife for the sites and training teachers and Federation to conduct monarch habitat volunteers for student projects including they will add 100 sites along restoration on 13 public sites and 10 Eco monarch tagging. Toe River Watershed Schools. They also are partnering with Partnership is also an important the monarch’s migration Monarchs Across Georgia to conduct a contributor in these efforts. monarch workshop for teachers in Plains, routes in the Southeast. Georgia, the home of the Rosalynn Carter Tennessee Butterfly Trail. The Tennessee Ecological Services Office has developed cooperative agreements The Georgia Ecological Services with Cumberland and Morgan County Office is working with the Atlanta Soil Conservation Districts and with Botanical Garden to create a monarch Clinch Powell Resources Conservation demonstration site at Panola Mountain and Development Council to propagate State Park and expand monarch habitat milkweed and plant pollinator gardens to at Blue Heron Nature Preserve.
    [Show full text]
  • Sc-Monarch-Butterfly.Pdf
    U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service February 2019 Conserving South Carolina’s At-Risk Species: www.fws.gov/charleston www.fws.gov/southeast/endangered-species-act/at-risk-species Species facing threats to their survival Monarch butterfly habitats are high altitude Mexican conifer engaging citizen scientists in monitoring (Danaus plexippus) forests, coastal California conifers, or Eu- Monarchs during their migratory, breed- calyptus groves. In South Carolina during ing, and overwintering seasons. Addition- the fall, winter, and early spring, Mon- ally, more research needs to be conducted archs can be found basking or roosting on to better document the distribution of evergreen trees and shrubs such as: wintering Monarchs along the South Car- Southern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana olina coast. Monarchs that winter along var. silicicola), Wax myrtle (Morella ce- the Atlantic coast, the extent of which is rifera), Red bay (Persea borbonia), and Ley- not yet determined, may provide a re- land cypress (Cupressus x leylandii). serve of wintering Monarchs that could become extremely valuable to the long- Status term survival of the eastern migratory Monarch butterfly/Photo credit: Jennifer The Monarch population has recently de- population of North American Monarchs. Koches clined to a fraction of its previous size. In the 1990s, estimates of up to one billion References Description Monarchs overwintered in the oyamel fir Jepsen, S., D. F. Schweitzer, B. Young, The Monarch butterfly is a large orange forests northwest of Mexico City, and N. Sears, M. Ormes, and S. H. Black. butterfly that is similar in appearance to more than one million Monarchs overwin- 2015. Conservation Status and Ecology of the smaller Viceroy (Limenitis archippus), tered in forested groves on the California Monarchs in the United States.
    [Show full text]
  • Lesson Plan Notes Is Recommended
    Camouflage and Mimicry Grade 2 Life Systems Safety Adult supervision and assistance Lesson Plan Notes is recommended Description Students will gain an understanding of how animals use camouflage and mimicry as adaptations in ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ their habitat. ​ Materials ● White Paper ● Markers ● Butterfly template ● Scissors ● Tape Science Background Camouflage and mimicry are two ways that some animals have adapted. This means that over many ​ ​ years, these animals have changed in their development, or the way they grow over years and years, in order to suit their needs in their habitat. A habitat is where the animal lives. ​ ​ In the animal world, animals are basically classified in two categories, the predator and the prey. The ​ ​ ​ ​ predator is the hunter, an animal that eats other animals. This is an animal like a wolf, that hunts and eats other animals. The prey is the animal that is being hunted. A deer is the prey to a wolf, because a ​ ​ deer is hunted by and eaten by wolves. Since animals need to hunt and eat each other, they need a way in order to protect themselves. A very simple solution for many animals is to camouflage. Camouflage is being able to blend in with certain aspects in an environment. This could be down by patterns on skin or fur, colours, behavior, or movements. There are two main reasons why the animal may need to use camouflage. 1. Prey avoiding predator. The prey, or animal being hunted, needs to hide from the predator. ​ ​ ​ The white-tailed deer is brown to blend in, or camouflage within its surroundings. It keeps it’s tail low, until it senses danger, and then flashes the bright white tail as a warning signal to other deer that there is danger.The flash of white is bright and obvious because it doesn’t camouflage with the deers surroundings as much.
    [Show full text]
  • Head Antenna E Wings Legs Thorax Eyes Abdomen Proboscis
    Virtual Monarch and Meadow Month Lesson: Monarch Butterfly and Caterpillar Anatomy In this lesson, participants will learn basic monarch butterfly and caterpillar anatomy and can practice labeling butterfly graphics. Monarch Butterfly Anatomy Butterflies are insects in the order Lepidoptera, which means “scaly wing”; this refers to the thousands of overlapping scales that not only give the butterflies their iconic colors, but also aid in flight. When you hear the word insect, you should automatically think 6 legs and 3 body parts; this rule helps you separate insects from similar animals like spiders, which have 8 legs and 2 body parts. When we talk about body parts we mean that they have a head (with eyes, antennae, and their mouthparts), then a thorax (where all of their legs and wings attach), and finally an abdomen (usually the largest segment, where most of their organs are). A butterfly’s mouth is called a proboscis, which is a tube-like structure that is normally curled up against the front of the butterfly’s face, but is extended into flowers’ nectar well to suck up nutrients. Monarchs are especially famous for their migration habits, so we can’t forget to mention their 4 brightly colored wings! Can you label these images with the monarch butterfly’s body parts? Here’s a word bank! Head Wings Thorax Abdomen Antenna Legs Eyes Proboscis e Scroll to Page 2 for the answers! 1 Monarch Caterpillar Anatomy The monarch butterfly caterpillar is fantastical even before it becomes a chrysalis and transforms its long, Discussion + Home Exploration: For more squishy body into the graceful winged adult that we info about insects, check out this video! love to watch flitting from flower to flower.
    [Show full text]
  • (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) Butterflies Are Palatable to Avian Predators
    insects Article Evaluating an Alleged Mimic of the Monarch Butterfly: Neophasia (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) Butterflies are Palatable to Avian Predators Dale A. Halbritter 1,2,* , Johnalyn M. Gordon 3, Kandy L. Keacher 4, Michael L. Avery 4,5 and Jaret C. Daniels 2,6 1 USDA-ARS Invasive Plant Research Laboratory, 3225 College Ave, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314, USA 2 Entomology and Nematology Department, University of Florida, 1881 Natural Area Dr, Steinmetz Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA; jdaniels@flmnh.ufl.edu 3 Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, 3205 College Ave, Davie, FL 33314, USA; johnalynmgordon@ufl.edu 4 Florida Field Station, USDA-APHIS National Wildlife Research Center, 2820 E University Ave, Gainesville, FL 32641, USA; [email protected] (K.L.K.); [email protected] (M.L.A.) 5 2906 NW 14th Pl., Gainesville, FL 32605, USA 6 McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Florida Museum of Natural History, 3215 Hull Road, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA * Correspondence: dhalb001@ufl.edu or [email protected]; Tel.: +1-661-406-8932 Received: 28 September 2018; Accepted: 22 October 2018; Published: 29 October 2018 Abstract: Some taxa have adopted the strategy of mimicry to protect themselves from predation. Butterflies are some of the best representatives used to study mimicry, with the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) a well-known model. We are the first to empirically investigate a proposed mimic of the monarch butterfly: Neophasia terlooii, the Mexican pine white butterfly (Lepidoptera: Pieridae). We used captive birds to assess the palatability of N. terlooii and its sister species, N.
    [Show full text]
  • Milkweed Butterflies AKA Monarchs
    Milkweed Butterflies AKA Monarchs Laurie Cameron Decline in Population The population of these once-common, iconic orange-and- black butterflies has seen a rapid decline of nearly seventy percent in the past two decades. One reason is that the heart of monarch breeding range is the agricultural areas in the midwest where milkweed plants have given way to corn and soybean fields. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, it’s estimated that monarch butterflies may have lost more than 165 million acres of habitat — an area about the size of Texas — including nearly one-third of their summer breeding grounds in the past 20 years. Monarch butterflies go through four stages during one life cycle, and through four generations in one year. Life cycle All butterflies have "complete metamorphosis." To grow into an adult they go through 4 stages: egg, larva, pupa (AKA chrysalis), and adult. Each stage has a different goal - for instance, caterpillars need to eat a lot, and adults need to reproduce. Life Cycle & Migration In February and March, the final generation of hibernating monarch butterflies comes out of hibernation to find a mate. They then migrate north and east in order to find a place to lay their eggs. This starts stage one and generation one of the new year for the monarch butterfly. Life Cycle & Migration: March and April The eggs are laid on milkweed plants. Life Cycle & Migration: March and April They hatch into baby caterpillars, also called the larvae. It takes about four days for the eggs to hatch.. Life Cycle & Migration: March and April Then the baby caterpillar doesn’t do much more than eat the milkweed in order to grow.
    [Show full text]