Monarch Butterfly - Danaus plexippus

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Monarch Butterfly - Danaus plexippus
NatureWorks
New Hampshire Public Television
Image Credits: Clipart.com unless otherwise noted

Habitat
In the spring and summer, the monarch butterfly's habitat is open fields and meadows with milkweed. In winter it can be found on the coast of southern California and at high altitudes in central Mexico.

Diet
Monarch butterfly larva feed on milkweed. Adults gather nectar from flowers. The monarch is not a very pleasant meal for predators. Eating milkweed causes the monarch to store alkaloid. This makes it taste horrible to predators! This is such an effective protection from predators, the the viceroy butterfly has adapted to look like the monarch so predators will leave it alone too!

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