The Monarch Butterfly eats milkweed. They eat nectar from from milkweed, butterfly bush, golden rod, thistle, iron weed, and mint. The monarch butterfly travels differently from all other butterflies in North America. They travel much further than the tropical butterflies. They travel up to 3000 miles. They are one of the butterflies that make the two way trip to the same place every year. Sometimes they go to the same tree every year.Their migration is more like a whale's or birds migration route. The Monarch Butterfly migrates every January. You can see the Monarch Butterfly bundled in the trees in the morning and during the day you can see then flying around. Like the other butterflies, they all go through four life stages: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis), and adult (butterfly). Depending on temperature, the eggs hatch in about 5-10 days, forming larvae (defined), which promptly eat their used-up eggshell. Monarch's food is the milkweed family. When they outgrow their cuticle they molt, then they eat their skin, then continue growing in a larger cuticle. Information about the Monarch Butterfly One of the monarch butterfly's nicknames is the "milkweed butterfly" because its larvae eat the plant. In fact, milkweed is the only thing the larvae can eat! The larvae feed on the plant leaves for about two weeks and grow into caterpillars about 2 inches long. After awhile, the caterpillars hang upside down to a twig, then they shed their outer skin and begin the transformation into a pupa (or chrysalis), a process which is completed in a matter of hours.The pupa resembles a waxy, jade vase and becomes transparent as the process progresses. The caterpillar completes the transformation into a adult butterfly in about two weeks. The butterfly finally gets out of the cacoon and turns into chrysalis. It inflates its wings with a pool of blood it has stored in its abdomen. When this is done, the monarch takes away any excess fluid and rests.The butterfly waits until its wings stiffen and dry before it flies away to start the cycle of life all over again. Eastern populations winter in Florida, along the coast of Texas, and in Mexico, and go back to the north in spring. Monarch butterflies follow the same migration patterns every year. During migration, huge numbers of butterflies can be seen gathered together. Most predators have caught on that the monarch butterfly is a very toxic. The toxins from the monarch's milkweed that it has eaten have given the butterfly this defense. In either the caterpillar or butterfly stage the monarch needs no camouflage because it takes in toxins from the milkweed and is poisonous to predators. Many animals advertise their poisonous nature with bright colors... just like the monarch! MoRe InFoRmAtIoN aBoUt ThE mOnArCh BuTtErFlY Did you know that.. ...that butterflies taste with their feet? Their taste sensors are at their feet, and by standing on their food, they can taste it! All butterflies have six legs and feet. In some species such as the monarch, the front pair of legs remains tucked up under the body most of the time, and are difficult to see. Monarch butterflies regularly migrate beween southern Canada and central Mexico, a total distance in excess of 2500 miles. They onlt weigh 1/50 of an ounce but travel at 20 mph and reach altitudes of 10,000 feet. Monarch females can lay a lot of eggs several hundreds, usually laying a single egg on a plant. The eggs hatch about four days after they are laid. Spiders, termites, ambush bugs, ants, lacewings, wasps and stinkbugs all eat monarch eggs or larvae. Monarch butterflies are found in meadows, roadsides, and sandy areas of North America where milkweed plants grow. The caterpillars, feed on the milkweed. Eventually they go into metamorphosis, changing into butterflies. Butterflies' colors come from tiny scales which cover the wings colors may aid them in and camouflage, or by warning away predators. The monarch is most famous for its migration in which millions of other butterflies travel south, some for thousands of miles. Butterflies drink from plants as they feed on nectar. Did you know that butterflies it to be 50 degrees to enable them to fly? Butterflies are cold-blooded and will not fly if the temperature is below 50 degrees. There is some butterflies like the Red Admiral that would like feeding on rotting fruit and animal dung It takes about one hundred Monarch Butterflies to weigh an ounce. In some places, the number of caterpillars feeding on plants is so large that you can actually hear them munching. Butterflies flap their wings really slow, but its from 5-20 beats per second. Those are really fun facts!! FuN fAcTs!!