Animalia > Arthropoda > Insecta > Lepidoptera > Papilionoidea > Nymphalidae > Danaus > Danaus plexippus
 

Danaus plexippus (Monarch Butterfly)

Synonyms: Euploea curassavicae; Papilio misippiformis

Wikipedia Abstract

The Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a milkweed butterfly, in the family Nymphalidae. It is perhaps the best known of all North American butterflies. Since the 19th century, it has been found in New Zealand, and in Australia since 1871 where it is called the Wanderer. It is resident in the Canary Islands, the Azores, and Madeira, and is found as an occasional migrant in Western Europe and a rare migrant in the United Kingdom.
View Wikipedia Record: Danaus plexippus

Infraspecies

Danaus plexippus americanus
Danaus plexippus fumosus
Danaus plexippus leucogyne
Danaus plexippus menippe
Danaus plexippus nivosus
Danaus plexippus portoricensis
Danaus plexippus pulchra
Danaus plexippus tobagi

Attributes

Litter Size [1]  663
Migration [2]  Intercontinental
Wing Span [3]  3 inches (.09 m)

Protected Areas

Name IUCN Category Area acres Location Species Website Map Climate Land Use
Badlands National Park II 178535 South Dakota, United States
Calamocarro-Benzú 1487 Spain  
Calvin College Ecosystem Preserve 90 Michigan, United States
Carlsbad Caverns National Park II 15448 New Mexico, United States
Fenland 1529 England, United Kingdom
Morecambe Bay 151985 England, United Kingdom
Pen Llyn a`r Sarnau/ Lleyn Peninsula and the Sarnau 360832 Wales, United Kingdom
Western Michigan University's Asylum Lake Preserve 274 Michigan, United States

Emblem of

Alabama
Idaho
Illinois
Minnesota
North Carolina
Texas
West Virginia

Prey / Diet

Apocynum androsaemifolium (flytrap dogbane)[4]
Araujia sericifera (moth plant)[4]
Asclepias amplexicaulis (clasping milkweed)[4]
Asclepias asperula (antelope horns)[4]
Asclepias californica (California milkweed)[4]
Asclepias cordifolia (heartleaf milkweed)[4]
Asclepias curassavica (bloodflower)[4]
Asclepias curtissii (Curtiss' milkweed)[4]
Asclepias syriaca (broadleaf milkweed)[5]
Asclepias tuberosa (butterflyweed)[5]
Calotropis gigantea (giant milkweed)[5]
Gomphocarpus cancellatus <Unverified Name>[6]
Gomphocarpus fruticosus (Arizona milkweed)[7]
Gomphocarpus physocarpus (balloonplant)[5]
Oxypetalum caeruleum <Unverified Name>[7]
Schinus molle (false pepper)[7]

Prey / Diet Overlap

Competing SpeciesCommon Prey Count
Amphipyra tragopoginis (mouse)1
Apis mellifera (honey bee)1
Archilochus colubris (Ruby-throated Hummingbird)1
Arocatus rusticus2
Battus philenor (pipevine swallowtail)1
Colias philodice (clouded sulphur)1
Danaus chrysippus (Plain Tiger)5
Nymphalis antiopa (camberwell beauty)1
Papilio glaucus (Eastern tiger swallowtail)1
Papilio polyxenes (Eastern black swallowtail)1
Sphecius speciosus (cicada killer)1
Xylotoles griseus1

Predators

Peromyscus melanotis (black-eared mouse)[8]

Institutions (Zoos, etc.)

    Maps
Institution Infraspecies / Breed 
Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo
Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo
Zoo de Santillana y Parque Cuaternario

Distribution

New Zealand (Alien); Western Michigan University’s Asylum Lake;

External References

Photos

Citations

Species recognized by Gordon D., 11/05/2011, LepIndex: The Global Lepidoptera Names Index in Catalog of Life 2011
Attributes / relations provided by ♦ 1Body size, egg size, and their interspecific relationships with ecological and life history traits in butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea, Hesperioidea), Enrique García-Barros, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society (2000), 70: 251–284 ♦ 2Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. 2006. The Animal Diversity Web (online). Accessed February 01, 2010 at animaldiversity.org ♦ 3BUTTERFLIES OF AUCKLAND, D.R. Cowley and J.M. Cowley, TANE 29, 1983, pp. 181-192 ♦ 4HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants Gaden S. Robinson, Phillip R. Ackery, Ian J. Kitching, George W. Beccaloni AND Luis M. Hernández ♦ 5Biological Records Centre Database of Insects and their Food Plants ♦ 6Species Interactions of Australia Database, Atlas of Living Australia, Version ala-csv-2012-11-19 ♦ 7New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Plant-SyNZ™ database ♦ 8Peromyscus melanotis, Sergio Ticul Alvarez-Castaneda, MAMMALIAN SPECIES No. 764, pp. 1–4 (2005)
Protected Areas provided by Badlands National Park ♦ Natura 2000, UK data: © Crown copyright and database right [2010] All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100017955 ♦ Calvin College Ecosystem Preserve ♦ Carlsbad Caverns National Park ♦ GBIF Global Biodiversity Information Facility ♦ Western Michigan University’s Asylum Lake
Images provided by Google Image Search
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Weather provided by NOAA METAR Data Access
Institution information provided by International Species Information System - May 2011