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ED'S OUTDOOR PAGES
(fomerly the Green Mountain Club Montpelier Section website ) |
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Life-cycle of the Monarch Butterfly Text & Images © Edward Loewenton 2006 All rights reserved Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 |
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The Adult Monarch Adults live 2 to 6 weeks, except for the generation that migrates from the north in late August and early September to Mexico; those adults that survive the journey live until the following spring, at which time they awake from hibernation, mate, and then die. |
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Adults are sexually mature at hatching; their
primary task is to mate and produce offspring. Adults feed on nectar from
any available flowers. A captive Monarch will also eat dilute honey from a
paper towel. The summer's last generation of monarchs, the ones that will migrate to Mexico, are not sexually mature at hatching, even though they look just like normal adults. Exposed to shorter days and cooler nights, the developing larvae and pupae undergo some alteration in their growth that prevents sexual maturation in the adult. When the butterflies are exposed to the lengthening days and warmer temperatures of the Mexican Spring, their reproductive organs begin to mature. |
 The adult butterfly that emerged in the sequence on Pages 3 & 4 resting on a flower before its first flight. Some butterflies rest for many hours before flying; this one was ready in less than an hour. |
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An adult Monarch rests in the sunlight just after emerging from the chrysalis at right. Two spots on the the lower wings and narrower veins indicate that it is a male. |
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