Fun Facts

General Facts

  • Monarchs are Insects

  • Monarch butterflies go through four stages of Metamorphosis: Egg, Caterpillar, Pupa and Adult.

  • The Monarch butterfly is a Milkweed Butterfly that is a member of the genus Danaus.

  • The binomial name for the monarch butterfly is Danaus Plexippus.

  • The Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is commonly confused with the viceroy butterfly (Limenitis archippus)

  • Monarch caterpillars feed only on Milkweed plants, which make them poisonous to predators.

  • A Monarch butterfly garden is where someone grows plants specifically to attract monarch butterflies

By Kids For Kids

  • Monarchs taste with their feet

  • Live on an all liquid diet

  • It takes Monarchs 10-14 days to hatch out of it's chrysalis

  • Monarchs fly about 5.5 mph

  • A group of Monarchs is called a kaleidoscope

  • Female monarchs lay between 100 and 300 eggs in their lifetime

  • When Monarchs fly to Mexico they do not eat for up to 5 months

  • Monarchs ears are sensitive to low pitch sounds

  • Monarchs need the air to be 65-70 F to fly and do not fly at night

  • Monarchs only mate one time their life

  • The Monarch Butterfly is easy to identify by the black, orange and white patterns on their wings

    The average wingspan of a Monarch butterfly is between 3.5 and 4 inches (~10cm)

    A Monarch's brilliant coloring tells predators: “Don't eat me. I'm poisonous.”

  • The Monarch Butterfly was given its name in 1758, by Carl Linnaeus, a Swedish botanist, zoologist, and physician.

    It’s believed the Monarch Butterfly got its name to honor the king of England, William III.

    In 2009, Monarch Butterflies were bred and raised on the International Space Station.

  • Monarchs home range is in Canada and the US

    Monarchs Migrate long distances between North and South America, following the seasons and avoiding the frost

    Migration distances can be up to 4,800 miles

    They return to the same forests each year, and some even find the same tree that their ancestors landed on

  • Spiders, Wasps, Birds, Lizards, Ants, Frogs, Tachinid flies, Stink Bugs, Mantids, Lady Bugs