- egg
- caterpillar (larva)
- crysalis (pupa)
- adult (winged butterfly)
Classification:
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum Arthropoda
- Class Insecta
- Order Lepidoptera
- Suborder Macrolepidoptera
- Family Danaidae
- Genus Danaus
- Species Danaus plexippus (Source: Kane)
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Habitat:
In warm season habitats found in open habitat such as prairie. Requires the milkweed presence of the milkweed plant to provide food source to catepillars. Overwintering habitat is dense forest.Range:
Occurs in North and South America and overwinters in the Caribbean. Also found in Australia, New Zealand, the oceanic islands of the Pacific, Mauritius, the Canary Islands of the Atlantic, and Western Europe.Diet:
Caterpillars feed on the leaves of the milkweed plant (Genus Asclepias). Adults feed on the nectar of flowers (Source: Kane).Migration:
The two populations of monarchs in the US (eastern and western). The eastern population overwinters in the mountains of eastern Michoacan in central Mexico and the western population overwinters along the California coast (Source: Kane).Sources:
- Burnie, D. and D.E. Wilson. Animal. Dorling Kindersley. London. 2001.
- Kane, E. 1999. 'Danaus plexippus' (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed September 14, 2005.


