Monarch Butterflies
| Monarch Butterfly Facts Teaching Suggestions |
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| Wayne Kryduba | Elizabeth Howard | James Gallion | Vincent Burolla |
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| Contributed by Dr. Karen Oberhauser | |||
- How
big is the monarch butterfly?
By Year 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 - How much does a monarch butterfly weigh?
- How do you tell the male monarch from the female?
- Why do only male monarchs have a big black spot on their wings?
- Why do the females have thicker wing veins?
- Can monarch butterflies fly in the rain?
- How do monarchs keep dry if it rains, and how do they dry their wings and what happens to them if they get wet?
- Since the wings are thin how come they don't wear out?
- About how many scales can fall off before the monarch has to stop flying?
- How should we handle the wings?
- How many times do their wings flap in a minute?
- Why do they fly like they're dizzy (referring to erratic flight)?
- What kind of tags are used on the butterflies, so as not to weigh them down?
- Can monarchs hear?
- How do monarchs breathe?
- Do monarchs breath in their chrysalis, and if they do, how do they? If they don't, why don't they need air?
- Do monarch butterflies have brains?
- How do monarch butterflies excrete?
- Can butterflies overheat if it gets too hot?
- At what temperature is it too cold for monarchs to fly?
- Is it true that monarchs can only see one color?
- Are monarchs nocturnal or diurnal?
- Do monarchs sleep or do they just rest?
- Where do they go and what do they do at night?
- How do their internal clocks work?
- Do monarch butterflies communicate with each other? How? What kinds of things would they communicate about? Is anyone studying their communication?
- How long do adult monarch butterflies live?
- How many inches are the eggs of a monarch butterfly?
- How many eggs do monarchs have at one time?
- What is the most eggs a monarch butterfly has ever laid?
- Do the butterflies die after they lay their eggs?
- What does a female do after she lays eggs in my garden; does she go away?
- How do females know which plant is a milkweed?
- Can a female monarch have babies without the help of the male?
- What happens if a female mates, is ready to lay her eggs, and can't locate milkweed?
- How long is a monarch caterpillar (larva)?
- Can you tell a male and female monarch in the larval state?
- How do the gold spots on the chrysalis form?
- Can cold temperatures cause monarchs to emerge with deformed wings?
- Does any structure of the caterpillar survive in the chrysalis?
- Does the skin of the chrysalis play a role in the formation of wings and other organs?
- When the newly emerged adult monarch pumps fluid from the abdomen into the wings, does the fluid remain a liquid in the veins or do the veins of the wings become solid after awhile?
- How does a monarch butterfly know how to fly right away when it hatches out of its chrysalis?
- Is there any difference between chrysalid and a chrysalis?
- How is the gold formed in a chrysalis and why?
- What happens to all of the butterflies who do not mate? Do they die sooner or live longer?
- What percentage of monarchs make it to the migratory stage?
- We understand that the monarch shuts down the reproductive cycle before migrating to Mexico. How does this happen?
- What starts up reproduction again in Mexico, before the butterfly migrates in the spring?
- When rearing monarchs, what do you recommend for a cage?
Food
- What do monarch butterflies eat?
- What color is nectar? Is it always the same color for each flower or does it change colors?
- How do monarchs eat?
- Where does the monarch butterfly fit in the food web is it is considered poisonous by its predators due to the fact that it eats milkweed?
- Do the males look for food more than the females?
Enemies
- What is the name of the poison in the monarch butterfly's body and how potent is it?
- Are there any that can and do regularly eat monarch butterflies or catepillars?
- What are some invertebrate predators of the monarch and why are they able to eat the monarch since birds can't?
- If monarchs are toxic to the two predator birds, what effect do the toxins have on the mice predators?
- Approximately how long does it take predators' bodies to eliminate/reduce the toxin levels to a safe level or to where they can eat again?
- Do monarchs in the north have a different chemical makeup because milkweed they eat is different from the southern milkweed?
- What is the most abundant kind of milkweed in the U.S. and in Mexico?
- Do bees sting monarch pupae?
- Do you have any concerns about rearing monarchs and diseases?
- Can anything be done about the tachinid flies that attack larvae?
Habitat and Distribution
- Why don't monarch butterflies live in the Rocky Mountains in the summer?
- Do monarchs hibernate in Mexico?
Behavioral Adaptations: Migration
