Monarch+Butterfly

=﻿The King of Butterflies, the Monarch Butterfly=

__**Species name:**__ Monarch Butterfly (//Danaus plexippus//)

__**Photo:**__



__**Scientific Classification:**__ __Domain:__ Eukaryote __Kingdom:__ Animalia __Phylum:__ Arthropoda __Class:__ Insecta __Order:__ Lepidoptera __Family:__ Nymphalidae __Genus:__ //Danaus// //Kluk 1780// __Species:__ //D. plexippus//

__**Habitat Description:**__ The Monarch butterfly are native to North and South America.Three of the disticnt population of monarch in the United States are: the east of the Rocky Mountains, the mountains of central Mexico, and into the west of the Rocky Mountains on the California coast. Their preferred habitat is in the high altitude forests where they could hibernate or in places where there is an abundance of milkweed. The milkweed plant, Asclepias syriaca, is fournd throughout the northern United States and Canada; they are also sufficiently toxic - which make monarchs unpalatable to predators. The milkweed pland allow the monarch caterpillar to feed on the leaves and later with their blossoms. Adult butterflies are unable to survive a long winter, therefore they migrate to warmer location when winter arrives.

__**Physiology Description:**__ The Monarch butterly accumulate chemicals called cardenolides that are obtained from the milkweed plant. The latex flows out of the plant when it is punctured and serves as a defense to the plant. The latex allows the plant to kill small larvae by "sealing their mandibles or gluing their entire body to the leaf" (Oberhauser). The cardenolides are also poisonous to most vertebrates so the monarch butterfly faces little predation from birds, lizards, mice, etc. __**Works Cited:**__ Oberhauser, Karen S., PhD. "Monarch butterfly." //Environmental Encyclopedia//. Ed. Marci Bortman, Peter Brimblecombe, and Mary Ann Cunningham. 3rd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. //Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center//. Web. 27 Apr. 2011.

"Insects and Spiders." //Endangered Species: Protecting Biodiversity//. Ed. Kim Masters Evans. 2008 ed. Detroit: Cengage/Gale, 2009. //Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center//. Web. 27 Apr. 2011.

"Monarch Butterfly." //Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia.// Grolier Online, 2011. Web. 27 Apr. 2011.