i plant happiness
  • home
  • blog
  • gallery
  • about

blogGAGE

enjoying the monarchs

9/27/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
This September, I have seen more Monarchs than I have for a very, very long time. The butterflies spend a lot of time on my tall Zinnia Swirls. It's been amazing to see 2 or 3 Monarchs on one zinnia plant. Once they got used to me being around, they allowed me to take quite a few photos.

I was curious about Monarchs and here's what I found out:
  1. Monarchs weigh between 0.25 to 0.75 grams (for reference, a paper clip weighs 1 gram).
  2. A black spot on an inside surface of the hind wing distinguishes male Monarch butterflies from the females who have no such spot.
  3. Females lay their eggs on milkweed leaves.
  4. Monarch butterflies store a poison called Cardiac Glycosides that they ingest by feeding on the leaves of the milkweed foliage in their larva stage. These toxins provide the butterflies with a poisonous defense against predators such as lizards, birds, and frogs.
  5. Monarchs use their eyes to locate flowers, their antennas to smell the nectar, and minute receptors lodged in their feet to taste sweet substances.
  6. Adult monarchs feed on nectar and water by sipping on it using a sucking tube called proboscis that lies coiled under the head when not in use.
  7. The life cycle is constituted by 4 generations of Monarchs that complete 4 unique phases in one year. The fourth generation are the only ones that migrate.
  8. Monarch wings flap slower than other butterflies at about 300 to 720 times a minute.
  9. They fly at speeds ranging between 12 to 25 miles an hour. The butterflies use updrafts of warm air to preserve the energy required for the long migration to the warm Central Mexican Oyamel fir forests in the Michoacán hills.
  10. In 1986 the Mexican authorities converted 62 square miles of forests in the Sierra Madres to the now renowned Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, home to hundreds of millions of Monarch butterflies during winter. The government further extended the reserve area to an area of 217 acres in the year 2000.

Facts from: http://www.monarch-butterfly.com    

And to note - Monarchs are being considered for placement on the endangered species list.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    if it's about

    my backyard and garden, I LOVE to talk about it!

    archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014

    categories

    All
    Critters
    Daylily Profiles
    Events
    Fall
    Flowers
    Garden Tools
    Garden Vogue
    Just 'Wow'
    Organization
    Places To Visit
    Products I Like
    Projects
    Shade Plants
    Spring
    Succulents
    Thoughts To Ponder
    Trees
    Unrelated To Anything
    Whimsy
    Winter

    RSS Feed

Copyright 2022 iplanthappiness      
iplanthappiness@yahoo.com
  • home
  • blog
  • gallery
  • about