Who Ate These Butterflies? Each Predator Leaves its Clues

Monarch Butterflies

Who Ate These Butterflies?
Each Predator Leaves its Clues

Which predator ate each butterfly below? By looking closely at a dead butterfly you can see clues. This is because each predator has its own method of eating monarchs. Inspect these butterflies carefully and see if you can figure out who the predators were:

Predator	Clue
Black-headed Grosbeak	The monarch's abdomen is entirely missing.
Black-backed Oriole	The monarch's abdomen is present, but it appears to be "unzipped" (slit open) and the thorax is gorged.
Black-eared Mouse	Caches of butterflies are found on the ground, and only the wings remain.

Click on each photo for a closer look:


#1	#2	#3
Then compare your observations to ours.