Monarch
Danaus plexippus
33.135, -117.034
Field Notes
Description:
Bright orange butterfly with black and white markings. The thorax has white spots. This one was in good condition and was quite shy of the camera.... ok, maybe it was the photographer.
Habitat:
Bougainvillea in the backyard. They can be found "from southern Canada to northern South America. It rarely strays to western Europe (rarely as far as Greece) from being transported by U. S. ships or by flying there if weather and wind conditions are right. It has also been found in Bermuda, Hawaii, the Solomons, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Australia, New Guinea, Ceylon, India, the Azores, and the Canary Islands." - Wikipedia
Notes:
"Monarchs are especially noted for their lengthy annual migration. In North America they make massive southward migrations starting in August until the first frost. A northward migration takes place in the spring. The monarch is the only butterfly that migrates both north and south as the birds do on a regular basis. But no single individual makes the entire round trip. Female monarchs deposit eggs for the next generation during these migrations. Monarch butterflies are one of the few insects capable of making trans-Atlantic crossings. Monarch butterflies are poisonous or distasteful to birds and mammals because of the presence of cardiac glycosides that are contained in milkweed consumed by the larva." - Wikipedia
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