Missouri Animals Monarch butterfly   (Danaus plexippus) Arthropoda: Insects: Butterflies and Moths Native North American arthropod Habitat: savanna, woodland, forest Diet: milkweed leaves (larvae), nectar (adults) ID Features: large burnt-orange butterfly with prominent black spots, wings fringed in black Natural History: Monarch butterflies display aposematic coloration - they are poisonous. They feed on milkweed leaves as caterpillars and store the milkweed toxins. The monarch is a summer resident only. It is America's best known butterfly. The monarch cycle starts in Mexico and after metamorphosis, it migrates north during spring into North America. After feeding on flowers across the continent, the monarch migrates south and overwinters again in Mexico. It is also a tough butterfly - can sustain a bite from a bird and still fly.

The graphics, text, and sound are from: By Didier Descouens (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons Text from: Butterflies and Moths of Missouri by J. Richard and Joan E. Heitzman