Monarchs for Swallowtail thread
- Thread starter DebºoºS
- Start date
DebºoºS
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 31, 1997
Enjoyed Olenas Swallowtail information so much I looked up Monarchs Monarch (Danaus plexippus [Linnaeus])
Wing span: 3 3/8 - 4 7/8 inches (8.6 - 12.4 cm).
Identification: Upperside of male is bright orange with wide black borders and black veins; hindwing has a patch of scent scales. Upperside of female is orange-brown with wide black borders and blurred black veins. Both sexes have white spots on borders and apex.
Life history: Adults warm up by basking dorsally (with their wings open and toward the sun). Females lay eggs singly under the host leaves; caterpillars eat leaves and flowers. Adults make massive migrations from August-October, flying thousands of miles south to hibernate along the California coast and in central Mexico. A few overwinter along the Gulf coast or south Atlantic coast. Along the way, Monarchs stop to feed on flower nectar and to roost together at night. At the Mexico wintering sites, butterflies roost in trees and form huge aggregations that may have millions of individuals. During the winter the butterflies may take moisture and flower nectar during warm days. Most have mated before they leave for the north in the spring, and females lay eggs along the way. Residents of tropical areas do not migrate but appear to make altitude changes during the dry season.
Flight: In North America during spring and summer there may be 1-3 broods in the north and 4-6 broods in the south. May breed all year in Florida, South Texas, and southeastern California.
Caterpillar hosts: Milkweeds including common milkweed (Asclepius syriaca), swamp milkweed (A. incarnata), and showy milkweed (A. speciosa); and milkweed vine in the tropics. Most milkweeds contain cardiac glycosides which are stored in the bodies of both the caterpillar and adult. These poisons are distasteful and emetic to birds and other vertebrate predators. After tasting a Monarch, a predator might associate the bright warning colors of the adult or caterpillar with an unpleasant meal, and avoid Monarchs in the future.
Adult food: Nectar from all milkweeds. Early in the season before milkweeds bloom, Monarchs visit a variety of flowers including dogbane, lilac, red clover, lantana, and thistles. In the fall adults visit composites including goldenrods, blazing stars, ironweed, and tickseed sunflower.
Habitat: Many open habitats including fields, meadows, weedy areas, marshes, and roadsides.
Range: 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.
Comments: The Viceroy butterfly (Limenitis archippus) is edible, but mimics the poisonous Monarch in order to gain protection from predators.
Conservation: Overwintering sites in California and Mexico should be protected and conserved.
The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management needs: Develop conservation and management plans for all wintering sites, migration corridors, and principal breeding areas.
Wing span: 3 3/8 - 4 7/8 inches (8.6 - 12.4 cm).
Identification: Upperside of male is bright orange with wide black borders and black veins; hindwing has a patch of scent scales. Upperside of female is orange-brown with wide black borders and blurred black veins. Both sexes have white spots on borders and apex.
Life history: Adults warm up by basking dorsally (with their wings open and toward the sun). Females lay eggs singly under the host leaves; caterpillars eat leaves and flowers. Adults make massive migrations from August-October, flying thousands of miles south to hibernate along the California coast and in central Mexico. A few overwinter along the Gulf coast or south Atlantic coast. Along the way, Monarchs stop to feed on flower nectar and to roost together at night. At the Mexico wintering sites, butterflies roost in trees and form huge aggregations that may have millions of individuals. During the winter the butterflies may take moisture and flower nectar during warm days. Most have mated before they leave for the north in the spring, and females lay eggs along the way. Residents of tropical areas do not migrate but appear to make altitude changes during the dry season.
Flight: In North America during spring and summer there may be 1-3 broods in the north and 4-6 broods in the south. May breed all year in Florida, South Texas, and southeastern California.
Caterpillar hosts: Milkweeds including common milkweed (Asclepius syriaca), swamp milkweed (A. incarnata), and showy milkweed (A. speciosa); and milkweed vine in the tropics. Most milkweeds contain cardiac glycosides which are stored in the bodies of both the caterpillar and adult. These poisons are distasteful and emetic to birds and other vertebrate predators. After tasting a Monarch, a predator might associate the bright warning colors of the adult or caterpillar with an unpleasant meal, and avoid Monarchs in the future.
Adult food: Nectar from all milkweeds. Early in the season before milkweeds bloom, Monarchs visit a variety of flowers including dogbane, lilac, red clover, lantana, and thistles. In the fall adults visit composites including goldenrods, blazing stars, ironweed, and tickseed sunflower.
Habitat: Many open habitats including fields, meadows, weedy areas, marshes, and roadsides.
Range: 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.
Comments: The Viceroy butterfly (Limenitis archippus) is edible, but mimics the poisonous Monarch in order to gain protection from predators.
Conservation: Overwintering sites in California and Mexico should be protected and conserved.
The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management needs: Develop conservation and management plans for all wintering sites, migration corridors, and principal breeding areas.
but not many monarchs 
Willowwind
<font color=red>DIS Veteran<br><font color=blue>Dr
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2002
I love this forum, it's been *so* informative even with me only being on it the past few weeks!
This weekend we went out foraging and came home with 10 pints of wild blackberries. While we were deep in the bramble we saw several Swallow tails and I was able to identify them for my kids because of this forum.
Thanks all!
This weekend we went out foraging and came home with 10 pints of wild blackberries. While we were deep in the bramble we saw several Swallow tails and I was able to identify them for my kids because of this forum.
Thanks all!
Grumpy D. Ham
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2003
Not only did we bring home blackberries, I brought home a passel of chiggers, too.
That being said, the butterflies were a nice sight.
(had to fix xome tags...)
Grumpy D. Ham
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2003
Thanks! I'm the green-thumb in our family *waves to WillowWind*.Originally posted by Snowwark
Welcome, Grumpy D. Ham!
I'm not sure what chiggers are?
Chiggers are evil little bugs that you can't really see with the naked eye, but when they bite, they leave a red, raised ITCHY AS ALL GET OUT welt about 1/4 to 1/2 inch across. Think mosquito bite but itches about 50 times worse. And, you don't know you got bit until it's WAY too late.
THat being said, it's my own fool fault. I didn't spray down with the bug-be-gone. Maybe I need more garlic in my diet...
The green thumb in the family? Would Willowwind agree with that....lol...
" Chiggers do not burrow into the skin, but insert their mouthparts in a skin pore or hair follicle. "
Ewwww...yuck!!! Thank you for the info (I think..lol), on those nasty little chiggers!!!
" Chiggers do not burrow into the skin, but insert their mouthparts in a skin pore or hair follicle. "
Ewwww...yuck!!! Thank you for the info (I think..lol), on those nasty little chiggers!!!
Grumpy D. Ham
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2003
Why yes, she would.Originally posted by Snowwark
The green thumb in the family? Would Willowwind agree with that....lol...
Ask her what "sable thumb" means some time. Muauauauauaua!Heh, sure thing. Didn't I say that the things were evil?Originally posted by Snowwark
" Chiggers do not burrow into the skin, but insert their mouthparts in a skin pore or hair follicle. "
Ewwww...yuck!!! Thank you for the info (I think..lol), on those nasty little chiggers!!!
I really meant it! DEET is your friend... DEET is your friend...
Willowwind
<font color=red>DIS Veteran<br><font color=blue>Dr
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2002
I'm a calligrapher and artist who works in the medieval style, so I frequently have black ink all over my fingers. Hence, it's said that us scribes have "sable thumbs".
Much to my dismay, my DH Grumpy is right, and mine extends to the garden as well. I can design a garden, I can plant a garden, and I can harvest when the time comes. However during that in between time, I don't do very well, and my plants frequently die.
Yes, I can even kill a Pathos.
So, Grumpy and I work as a team. It's a good thing, he gets to use my artistic eye and labor for planting and harvest, but other than that, the garden is his baby.
Much to my dismay, my DH Grumpy is right, and mine extends to the garden as well. I can design a garden, I can plant a garden, and I can harvest when the time comes. However during that in between time, I don't do very well, and my plants frequently die.
Yes, I can even kill a Pathos.
So, Grumpy and I work as a team. It's a good thing, he gets to use my artistic eye and labor for planting and harvest, but other than that, the garden is his baby.
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