Monarch Butterflies

On being a monarch butterfly

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Hello!  I’m Monique, a monarch butterfly.  If you’re willing to flit along with me, I’d love to tell you about my life!

I never met Mother, but she placed my pinhead-sized egg on the underside of a milkweed leaf and four days later, I was born as a very tiny caterpillar.  I was absolutely ravenous back then and became an absolute eating machine.  I barely even took time to rest – I just ate and ate and then ate some more for good measure.  The milkweed I ate contained toxins, which built up in my body.  That’s a good thing because it makes us monarchs taste yucky to would-be predators!    

Over the next two weeks, I molted four times until I was about two inches (five centimeters) long.  And then it was time for me to rest.  I attached myself to a plant, dangled upside down in a “J” position (it’s the most stable!) and shed my skin a final fifth time.  In the end, my hardened body, also called a chrysalis, remained.  (It’s like a cocoon but is part of my body as opposed to being a silky woven shell.)   A week and a half later, I emerged in my current form.  My abdomen was full of fluid, which I pumped into my wings to inflate them.  I continued to hang with them behind me so they could harden properly.  An hour later, it was time to find some flowers so I could sample the nectar to fuel my new flying habit.  

In the mornings, when it was warming up, I’d spread my wings to absorb the heat from the sun.  As soon as I reached 55° F (13°C), usually in the late morning, I’d be on my way.  Flying was great and I could zip along at 25 mph (40 kph) when I needed to find a new patch of flowers. I’d stay active until early afternoon.  Then, each day as the sun sets, I’d find a tree or shrub to roost in for the night.  

After a week as a butterfly, I met Marquis.  He was patrolling around the milkweed patch where I landed, chasing off other males while he waited for me to arrive.  We spent the afternoon together and then roosted until the following morning.  Immediately after we parted company, I found a new patch of milkweed and began laying eggs. My body produced glue, which I used to adhere each individual egg to its leaf.  

Over the next few weeks, I spent an afternoon with Mateo and later, I spent time with Malik.  I’ve now laid nearly 500 eggs.  I’m at the end of my short life, but I know my children will carry on our legacy.  They will be the fourth generation born this summer and will carry our hopes as they migrate south for the winter.