How to Raise Monarch Butterflies by Carol Pasternak

Author:Carol Pasternak
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Nature, Kids, Butterflies
ISBN: 9781770850026
Publisher: Firefly Books
Published: 2015-10-02T00:00:00+00:00

The monarch’s bitter taste does not deter dragonflies.

The monarch’s distinctive orange and black coloring serves as a signal to potential predators, warning them of the butterfly’s unpleasant taste.

Mating and Migration

It may seem as if all the monarch’s energy is taken up with survival, but in fact, the adult’s main job is to reproduce — to mate and lay the eggs that will become the next generation.

Monarchs first mate when they are at least three days old. Females begin laying eggs right after their mating, and both sexes will mate several times during their lives. Over the course of her life, a female monarch can lay between 400 and 500 eggs.

In the early summer generations, adults live for only two to five weeks. But the final generation of monarchs is different. This group, which emerges in late summer and early fall, lives longer — for eight or nine months. Why? These butterflies have an important task. They must migrate to the overwintering grounds, either in central Mexico (for eastern monarchs) or in California (for western monarchs).

How do monarchs know when it’s time to migrate? The days get shorter, the nights get cooler, and the milkweed gets old. When this happens, the monarchs don’t mate. Instead, they tank up on goldenrod or other nectar in preparation for the long journey south.

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