The Butterfly of the Americas
The Monarch Butterfly is one of the most adored butterflies in North and South America mainly because it’s easiest to spot, also its migration trends. Though it dwells primarily in North and South America, this beautiful butterfly can also be observed in Europe in the Canary Isles, Azores, and Maderia. It makes the trip to Europe by hitchniking on a boat or by riding on powerful wind currents. There have also been known events when the wind currents are strong enough for the butterflies to show up in south-western GB also. The simplest way to identify these beautiful insects is by the black and orange design on their wings. You can distinguish the male and female apart because the females have a sharper and darker black vein and are slightly smaller than the male. Also the male has a dot in the centre of each one of its back wings, these are where pheromones are ejected to attract the females. What is most intriguing about these gorgeous animals is that they actually travel south in overwinter and return north in the summertime. In one summertime the butterflies go through three or four generations, at which point they gather by the thousands and migrate back south. Due to illegal deforestation these stunning insects are getting threatened, even though they very popular. They don’t have numerous natural predators because of toxic substances which they take in while in caterpillar form from the milkweed named cardenalide aglycones. There are only a handfull of birds as well as some mice that are slightly immune to the toxic substances and can resist small quantities of it without being affected. There is one bird, the black-headed Grosbeak, which is immune to the toxins and comfortably preys on the butterflies. Its a major tourist attraction when it’s time for the Monarch Butterflies to migrate back south for winter because all of the butterflies gather in one place before setting off. There are so many butterflies that they entirely blanket the surrounding trees to such an degree that there is not even a branch in view. Aside from their stunning pattern in black and orange on their wings there is a heap more to learn about these fantastic animals. You can seize their elegance without injuring them with butterfly in a jar and savour their beauty all year.
