Monarch ButterfliesBy: Emily Nguyen

Where do monarch butterflies live?

• They migrate south to Florida, Southern California and Mexico for the winter.

• They fly to milkweed plants.• They rest in trees at night.

What do monarch butterflies eat?

• They eat nectar from flowers.• Monarch caterpillars eat milkweed

plants.

What kind of predators eat monarch butterflies? • Most monarch butterflies are left

alone because they taste bad or will make a bird or animal sick.

• Spiders, black-eared mice, fire ants and birds like orioles and grosbeaks are predators of monarch butterflies.

What is the life cycle of a monarch butterfly.

Metamorphosis 1. Egg2. Caterpillar or larva3. Chrysalis or pupa4. Butterfly

Egg

• A white and shiny egg is on a leaf.

Caterpillar

• A caterpillar or a larva hatches.• The caterpillar is eating and getting bigger.• The caterpillar sheds its skin or molts about

5 times.

Chrysalis

• The chrysalis or pupa is wrapped around the caterpillar.

Butterfly

• The chrysalis splits open and the butterfly comes out.

Sources (books I used)

1. Monarch Butterfly by Gail Gibbons2. Great Migrations: Butterflies by Laura

Marsh