La mariposa monarca (Danaus plexippus) es un insecto lepidóptero ampliamente repartido por todo el mundo, aunque es más habitual en Norteamérica y Sudamérica. Su envergadura va de los 8,9 cm a los 10,2 cm y pesa aproximadamente 0,5 g. Sus alas son de un color naranja rojizo con prominentes venas negras, gruesos bordes negros y manchas blancas. Sus patas y antenas son negras, y su cuerpo es negro con manchas blancas. Las orugas de esta mariposa tienen un cuerpo rechoncho cubierto de franjas amarillas, negras y blancas.
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Danaus plexippus
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Animal Facts
Some populations of monarch butterflies are migratory and will migrate over 4800km from Canada and the Northern USA to Mexico. It may take 4 generations of butterflies to complete this round trip.
During the migration of the monarch butterfly, thousands of butterflies will cluster together to create the ideal temperature for themselves.
When male monarch butterflies attempt to court and mate with females, 30% of the time they will accidentally grab a male and attempt to mate with him.
Monarch butterfly caterpillars feed on poisonous milkweed which makes them toxic to predators. The orange/red colour of the adults is thought to signal danger for this reason.
During the caterpillar stage, a monarch caterpillar will eat 200 times its bodyweight in milkweed.
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