A bright, noticeable butterfly with orange wings and dark veins on them is a monarch butterfly. Living in North America, these fragile creatures are able to migrate to the Canary Islands, Europe, Africa, Australia and New Zealand during the period of migration. They feel great in any area with a warm, humid climate.
The monarch butterfly got its name for its appearance, which resembles a mantle, as well as for its impressive size. The wingspan of this insect reaches 100 mm. At the same time, females are much smaller, but they look just as impressive. One can distinguish a male from her at first glance by a dark spot on the lower wing in the center of the black “vein”.
Butterflies need such a bright color to scare away enemies. Juicy orange color makes you wary, and white spots on the edges of the wings warn the birds that the insect does not taste very good.
For all its splendor, the monarch butterfly belongs to poisonous creatures, but for humans it is safe. Even in the caterpillar stage, these insects feed on the euphorbia plant juice. Its juice is stored for a long time in the body of butterflies. For birds, it tastes terrible, and for some it is poisonous. There have been times when the most voracious birds spit out their prey.
For scientists, the monarch butterfly, a photo of which is presented in the article, is of particular interest. It is still not clear how these insects overcome huge distances of up to 3 thousand km. In order to winter, entire colonies leave their habitats and move closer to the equator. According to environmental experts, up to 14 million butterflies fly to Mexico.
Watching colony wintering places is very interesting. Huge clusters of these insects cling to tree trunks and branches, covering everything with a single colored carpet. The monarch is a butterfly that is threatened with extermination by man due to deforestation and those trees where colonies winter. The insect is listed in the international Red Book. As a result of human life, many of the butterflies' favorite places become unsuitable for life. Using pesticides, people fight milkweed, and as a result, food for the monarch disappears, and with it the population.
Monarch butterfly spends the winter motionless, hibernating until spring. In the spring, the main event in the life of adults occurs - they mate, lay eggs and die. After 3-4 days, the caterpillars hatch from the eggs. Moreover, they are so small that they are difficult to notice with the naked eye. Gluttonous caterpillars begin to grow rapidly. They absorb leaf milk for days on end. Soon, future butterflies grow in huge caterpillars of black and yellow color. This coloring signals to enemies that bitter poison is contained inside the body. Two weeks later, the caterpillar turns into a chrysalis. In another two weeks, the chrysalis transforms under the influence of hormones into a beautiful insect. Having freed itself from the cocoon, the butterfly is ready to fly north to return to its place of birth next winter. Adult individuals do not harm nature and humans, eating only nectar and pollen from plants.
Unfortunately, the life cycle length of these beautiful creatures is scanty by human standards. Those butterflies that were born at the beginning of summer live only 2 months. And those born in the fall are preparing for the winter, during which they sleep. Therefore, their eyelid is 4-5 months.