Monarch Butterflies and Public Awareness More than beautiful butterflies, monarch butterflies contribute to the health of our planet. While feeding on nectar, they pollinate many types of wildflowers and make our fruits.
The monarch butterfly is known by scientists as Danaus plexippus, which in Greek literally means "sleepy transformation." The name evokes the species' ability to hibernate and metamorphize. There are four stages in the life cycle of a butterfly. A monarch begins life as a single, greenish egg attached to the underside of a milkweed leaf. The `worm-like larva grows inside the egg. When it is ready, the larva chews a small hole in the egg shell and wriggles its way into the world. After a few minutes, the newly hatched larva …show more content…
When the larva has found a suitable place, it weaves a silk mat with a "button" in the center. Once the mat and button are ready, the larva grabs the silk with its legs and hangs upside down. The front part of its body will curve to make a "J-shape." Once in the "J", the larva molts for the last time. The skin splits behind the head, and the larva wiggles while it hangs upside down to remove the old skin. When the skin fall off, the larva becomes a pupa.A newly emerged butterfly will wait two or more hours before it can fly. New wings are small and shriveled,so the butterfly pumps body fluid through its wing veins in order to make them get …show more content…
The monarch butterflies will spend their winter hibernation in Mexico and some parts of Southern California where it is warm all year long.The monarch is the only butterfly known to make a two-way migration as birds do. Unlike other butterflies that can overwinter as larvae, pupae, or even as adults in some species, monarchs fly as far as 3,000 miles to reach their winter home. The Monarch butterfly migrates for 2 reasons. They can not withstand freezing weather in the northern and central continental climates in the winter. And the second reason, the larval food plants do not grow in their winter overwintering sites, so the spring generation must fly back north to places where the plants are plentiful. The monarch butterflies are important for us, and people don’t notice the importance of the monarch butterfly, so people
The monarch butterfly is known by scientists as Danaus plexippus, which in Greek literally means "sleepy transformation." The name evokes the species' ability to hibernate and metamorphize. There are four stages in the life cycle of a butterfly. A monarch begins life as a single, greenish egg attached to the underside of a milkweed leaf. The `worm-like larva grows inside the egg. When it is ready, the larva chews a small hole in the egg shell and wriggles its way into the world. After a few minutes, the newly hatched larva …show more content…
When the larva has found a suitable place, it weaves a silk mat with a "button" in the center. Once the mat and button are ready, the larva grabs the silk with its legs and hangs upside down. The front part of its body will curve to make a "J-shape." Once in the "J", the larva molts for the last time. The skin splits behind the head, and the larva wiggles while it hangs upside down to remove the old skin. When the skin fall off, the larva becomes a pupa.A newly emerged butterfly will wait two or more hours before it can fly. New wings are small and shriveled,so the butterfly pumps body fluid through its wing veins in order to make them get …show more content…
The monarch butterflies will spend their winter hibernation in Mexico and some parts of Southern California where it is warm all year long.The monarch is the only butterfly known to make a two-way migration as birds do. Unlike other butterflies that can overwinter as larvae, pupae, or even as adults in some species, monarchs fly as far as 3,000 miles to reach their winter home. The Monarch butterfly migrates for 2 reasons. They can not withstand freezing weather in the northern and central continental climates in the winter. And the second reason, the larval food plants do not grow in their winter overwintering sites, so the spring generation must fly back north to places where the plants are plentiful. The monarch butterflies are important for us, and people don’t notice the importance of the monarch butterfly, so people