Monarch Butterfly Essays -- essays research papers

The monarch butterfly, as known as Danaus plexippus, is often called the milkweed butterfly because its larvae eat the milkweed plant. They are also sometimes called "royalty butterflies" because their family name comes from the daughter of Danaus, ruler of Argos. There are many other interesting facts about this butterfly including its anatomy and life cycle, where the butterfly lies on the food chain, the migration from Canada to Mexico, why the butterfly is being threatened, and lastly, what is being done to help the butterfly. The anatomy of the monarch starts with it coloring. The monarch butterfly is bright orange with a white spots in a black margin around the edges. The veins on the wings are also black. The caterpillar is ringed with yellow, black, and white on each segment and has a pair of black fleshy tubercles at each end (Emmel, 1999). Monarchs smell with their antennae while they taste with their feet (Wexler, 1994). While the male monarchs have scent scales on their wings and "hair pencils" on their abdomens which secrete a scent (Emmel, 1999). The male scent is used during mating. The copulation of a male and female monarch can last from thirty to sixty minutes which is about average for most butterflies (Emmel, 1999). The life cycle starts as larva or caterpillar. First, the monarch lays the eggs on the milkweed plants. Next, the egg hatch into a caterpillar. The caterpillar then eats the milkweed plants until they are large enough to pupate (Emmel, 1999). Then, the caterpillar attaches a pad of silk to a stem of a milkweed plant so it can hang while it transform into a butterfly. Next, the caterpillar sheds it larval skin to reveal the chrysalis inside (Emmel, 1999). After it shed its skin, the pupa hardens and the chrysalis earns it name by glowing in the sun. As the pupa stage comes to an end, the butterfly can be seen through its pupa shell. The monarch emerges by splitting the pupa along the length of it proboscis (Emmel, 1999). First the legs emerge. Then the fluid fill body pumps its fluid into the veins of the wings while the body shrinks to normal size. Finally, the butterfly hangs from the pupa about two hours while the wings dry (Emmel, 1999). Monarchs do not have many predators expect for ... ...enetic engineered corn. It cannot sell the corn to European markets so the engineered corn is not the premium corn on the market. With the help of Alvarez, Mexico will still be the place of the monarchs winter home, and the human race objecting to engineered food, the monarch may still have a fighting chance for survival. With all these interesting facts about the monarch, the anatomy, life cycle, milkweed plant, migration, the endangerment, and the help of Alvarez, it is a wondering why more people are not doing more to help this national treasure. Literature Cited Brower, Lincoln P., Fink, Linda S., and van Zandt Brower, Andrew. 1995. On the dangers of interpopulational transfers of monarch butterflies. BioScience, 45:540-4 Clattenburg, Will, 2004. A Mission for Monarchs. American Forests, 110/2:32-7 Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia, 2nd edition. Volume 3, Insects, edited by Michael Hutchins, Arthur V. Evans, Rosser W. Garrison, and Neil Schlager. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group, 2003. Stix, Gary, 1999. The butterfly effect. Scientific American, 281/2:28-9 Wexler, Mark, 1994. How to feed a visiting monarch. National Wildlife, 32:14-21