Monarch Butterfly Lifecycle

Danaus plexippus

Monarchs live for about 9 months, but they don't always look like butterflies. The monarch begins its life as an egg. The eggs, layed on milkweed leaves, hatch into caterpillars. The baby caterpillars eat the milkweed, and grow very quickly. The milkweed contains a poison that the monarchs use as a defense. While the poison doesn't hurt the monarchs, it makes them taste bad to birds and other predators. Predators soon learn to avoid the bright colors of the monarch caterpillars and butterflies.

Monarch Lifecycle

Caterpillar (larva)
larva

Monarchs are caterpillars for a couple of weeks. They spend that time eating milkweed leaves.

Crysalis (pupa)

After eating their fill of milkweed, the caterpillar forms a shiny green and gold speckled crysalis. This is the pupal stage.

Butterfly (adult)
emerging

After about 14 days, the adult monarch butterfly emerges from its crysalis.

gathering The Aztec believed the adult Monarch butterflies to be the incarnation of their fallen warriors, wearing the colors of battle.

Migration

As the weather gets colder, monarchs begin their annual migration. Tens of millions of these butterflies spend the winter in a mountain forest in Central Mexico. Monarchs sometimes cover whole trees of eucalyptus and pine groves. In the spring they will make the long journy back north, and lay eggs along the way. When these eggs hatch into caterpillars, the whole cycle starts over again.