Monarch Watch is a cooperative network of students, teachers, volunteers and researchers dedicated to the study of the Monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus and its spectacular fall migration.
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- Feb 04, 2019 Monarch butterflies eat nectar from flowers, just as other butterflies do. Butterfly mouthparts are made for drinking nectar. If you look at a monarch butterfly's head, you will see its proboscis, a long 'straw,' curled up below its mouth.
- Monarch Watch is a cooperative network of students, teachers, volunteers and researchers dedicated to the study of the Monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus and its spectacular fall migration.
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This section contains practical tips on successfully rearing Monarchs, and ways in which you can increase your chances of observing the changes that occur during their metamorphosis. There are many ways to rear larvae; feel free to make modifications that work for you. If you plan on rearing large numbers, or more than one generation, you may have trouble with disease. To prevent this, sterilize all rearing containers between generations with a 10% bleach solution, and do not keep larvae in crowded conditions.
Please clean their containers often - it is not good for them to live in their own waste.
The Egg
Monarch butterfly eggs are somewhat difficult to find in the wild. Since it only takes 3-5 days for eggs to hatch, timing is crucial. The best sign is to watch for adult Monarchs stopping at milkweed plants. A female will usually lay only one egg per milkweed plant to ensure enough food for each larva. The egg is usually laid on the underside of the leaf, and females prefer young plants. If you do find an egg, it is best to collect the entire plant, and put its stem in water as soon as possible. If necessary, you can just take the leaf on which it is resting. If Monarchs are reared in captivity, females will lay dozens of eggs on a single plant.
Keep the plant stem in water. It may last longer if you cut the end of the stem just before putting it in water. If you have just taken the leaf, keep it on a moist paper towel or filter paper in a petri dish or any other clean container. Keep the container covered to maintain modest moisture. Check each day and add water a drop at a time to the filter paper if necessary.
The top of the egg will look dark before the larva is ready to emerge. Be sure to have a fresh milkweed leaf in the container for the new larva, if its old leaf is dry.
The Larva (Caterpillar)
Once the larvae emerge, they will need fresh milkweed leaves. They won't eat any other plants, although they do eat many different species, or kinds, of milkweed. If the original plant is still fresh, it is easiest to just leave the larvae on this for a few days. They rarely crawl far during this time, and do not need to be put in a container until they are about four days old. If you are keeping larvae in individual containers, be sure to replace leaves when they turn dry, every one to two days. Leaves will keep longer if the stem is wrapped in a moist paper towel and then wrapped in tin foil or plastic wrap. Containers should be emptied of frass (larva waste) every one to two days.
For more information on finding and growing milkweed, see our Milkweed Guide. If kept in a closed plastic bag in the refrigerator, milkweed will stay fresh for several days. You will need to save a lot of leaves to keep rearing larvae, but some teachers have reared continuous generations of Monarchs using this method.
Larvae can be handled safely with fingers after they are about three to four days old, but it is best to handle them as little as possible until they are over an inch long. If necessary, a moistened artist brush can be used to transfer younger larvae without hurting them. Larvae of any size should not be handled when they are molting. They are getting ready to molt when they remain very still, often on the side or top of their container, and when you can see their black head capsule about to come off. Just after they have molted, their tentacles will look droopy, and you may see the old skin behind the larva. They will usually eat this skin!
As larvae grow, so will their appetites. Be sure to check their leaf supply regularly. If you started with a small container, you will need to move the larvae to a larger one for adequate food supply and with enough room for the adult butterflies to emerge from the chrysalis. This should be done during the fourth instar, when the larvae are about an inch long. Be sure the upper surface is flat for easy attachment for pupating. Many types of containers can be used; clear or screen sides make it easier for students to see the Monarchs. Examples of good rearing containers include jars or cups with lids with holes, or covered with netting held on with a rubber-band. Ice cream buckets with a net rubber-banded over the top also work well, as do aquaria with screen tops. Feel free to use your imagination! [More elaborate cages]
There is some mortality in the larval stage. One bacterial disease causes the larvae to turn very dark, and then die. Others may simply stop eating and growing, and then die after for several days. While this may be difficult for the students to accept, you can assure them that as long as they have been keeping the containers clean, it is not their fault. Remove dead larvae and clean their containers well to prevent the spread of disease.
The Pupa (Chrysalis)
When larvae are ready to pupate, they crawl to the top of their cage, attach themselves with silken thread, and form a prepupal 'J' before shedding their skin for the last time. This process is fun to watch but it happens quickly. You can tell that they will shed their larval skin soon (within minutes) when their tentacles hang very limply and their bodies straighten out a little.
If desired, you can move the pupa after it has formed. Wait until it is hard and dry (several hours or longer). Tie a piece of thread around the cremaster and with a needle or pin carefully tease away the silk that is holding the pupa to the surface. Leave the silk attached so the thread does not slip off (see figure below). If the pupa has fallen and there is very little silk remaining, add a drop of glue to the thread where it surrounds the cremaster. The loose ends of thread can then be tied through a hole in the container cover or through a space in the netting. Clothes pins can also be used to hold the loose end of the thread to a ring stand or other similar object. If you have been weighing the larva, it is interesting to weigh the pupa too.
The adult will emerge in 10-14 days. When it is ready to emerge, the adult wings will be visible through the pupa covering.
The Adult Butterfly
Adults usually emerge in the mid-morning. When the pupa is very dark and the orange and black wings are visible, check it often to increase your chances of observing this amazing event. Some Monarchs die in the pupa stage. If your pupa has been very dark for over 48 hours, it is probably dead. Allow the newly emerged adult plenty of time to inflate its wings and for the wings to dry before handling (3-4 hours). To hold a butterfly, always hold all 4 wings at once in their vertical position. Despite what you may have heard, it is alright to handle Monarchs, even touching their wings, if you do it carefully. Because they live a long time, and many of them withstand a rigorous migratory flight, they are relatively sturdy. A few scales may come off during handling, but this will not hurt the butterfly. Many other butterflies and moths are much more fragile.
While monarchs can spread their wings and dry sufficiently to take a short flight after 90-120 minutes, it is best to wait 24 hours to release them. A monarch's first short flight soon after emergence allows them to reach a dark and protected spot where they rest the remainder of the day unless disturbed. They don't feed, they just sit. They need time to mature all their systems, including eyes, chemoreceptors, neuromuscular connections, etc. and a 24-hour or more period is needed before they are fully flight capable. This maturation period applies to nearly all insects.
It is best if monarchs are released on a warm sunny day, near flowers if possible. If it is colder than 60o F, they often cannot fly.
If you keep the adults, they should have a cage large enough to allow flight. Hanging or wooden frame cages are examples of cages that work well for adults. Adults do not need to be fed until the day after they emerge. After this they should be fed daily. They can be fed in a variety of ways. Fresh cut flowers can be placed in containers and put in the cage, a small dish or jar lid containing a sponge saturated with a 20% honey/water solution can be set in the cage, or fresh fruit such as watermelons, honeydew or cantaloupe melons can be cut and set in the cage. These should be changed daily to prevent fermentation. 'Juicy-Juice' purchased from a grocery store can substitute for the honey water solution. We also have a non-fermenting artificial nectar mix available. To encourage feeding in any of the above methods, place the front feet into the solution and the butterfly will sometimes unwind the proboscis and start feeding. If the butterfly does not unwind its proboscis after several tries, place a probe or pin in the loop of the proboscis and pull the pin away from the head so the proboscis is extended and touches the honey solution. Once the proboscis is in the nectar solution, the butterfly is feeding.
Adult mass can be measured using a triple beam balance (nearest 0.1g) or an electronic balance (nearest 0.01 g or 0.001 g). In both cases the butterfly should be placed in an envelope while it is being weighed. Be sure to subtract the mass of the envelope. The length of the forewings can also be measured; measure to the nearest millimeter from where the wing attaches to the thorax to its tip, or apex. It is interesting to measure both the right and left forewings and to note the degree of asymmetry (how different the two wings are on each butterfly).
See Size and Mass for more info.
For all living things, food is essential for survival. Whether it is plants or animals, without sufficient food, the population can't thrive. While there are many modes of food absorption for every group of organisms, this article focuses on what the Monarch caterpillar and the Monarch butterfly eats. So, what do the caterpillars eat? What do Monarch butterflies eat?
The Monarch feeds on solid food in its caterpillar stage and, after it transforms into an adult, it feeds on liquid food.
The Monarch butterfly undergoes complete metamorphosis as it grows from an egg to an adult, the process being egg to caterpillar , caterpillar to chrysalis, and finally, the chrysalis becomes an adult butterfly. Complete metamorphosis means that the form and shape of an organism gradually change while it continues to develop. In the case of the Monarch butterfly, the body form and features of the caterpillar are visibly different from the adult.
Besides the difference in appearance between the caterpillar and the adult Monarch, the mode of feeding and the type of food that the two eat are completely different. The caterpillar has strong jaws adapted for crushing and chewing solid food, while the butterfly has a proboscis adapted for siphoning liquid food. We are going to categorically describe the types of food that the Monarch eats as a caterpillar and as an adult.
What do Monarch Caterpillars Eat?
Monarch caterpillars are uniquely designed to specifically feed on one plant, the milkweed. This explains why the Monarch butterfly is also known as the milkweed butterfly. This wonderful plant is the reason why the Monarch butterfly has been proven beyond doubt to be the most beautiful butterfly in the world. But why the milkweed and not any other plant?
The milkweed plant is a perennial plant that exists in a number of varieties, including the swamp milkweed, the common milkweed, and the California milkweed, all of which the Monarch butterfly is attracted to. These varieties are native to many different areas of the world and they thrive depending on the weather conditions of an area. That is why, when purchasing a milkweed, gardeners advise you to choose one that is native to your area. That way, it will be more suited to the existing climate and weather conditions in your area. The milkweed plant pairs well with other flowering plants because it does not spread and it is also quite easy to grow as it does not require any special maintenance.
If you want to attract Monarch butterflies to your home or want to raise them indoors with the help of a Monarch butterfly kit , ensure that you have enough milkweed to sustain them. Researchers have found that that one caterpillar feeds on approximately 20 leaves of milkweed per day. When the milkweed is newly purchased as a shoot, it takes two months for it to develop and become a sufficient food source for caterpillars.
The milkweed plant blooms beautiful flowers with a vanilla scent that attracts the Monarch butterflies to feed on its nectar. The adult butterfly proceeds to lay its eggs on the leaves of this particular plant. They lay their eggs on the milkweed to secure the future of the caterpillar that will hatch out of that egg by ensuring that as soon as it is hatched, it has a ready supply of food.
Surprisingly, the milkweed contains all the nourishment that a caterpillar needs. It is such a good food source for caterpillars that as soon as it is ready for the next stage of its life cycle, it is 2,000-2,700 times its original size, and this weight is achieved through exclusive feeding on the milkweed leaves. The plant also protects the egg. The butterfly lays the egg on the underside of the leaf, where it is not easily detected by predators. It is also protected by the leaf from direct sunlight and kept free from direct rainfall. The question still remains, though; why the milkweed?
It is important to note that the milkweed is poisonous, not only to humans but also to other organisms in the wild. It is toxic when it comes into contact with the human eye. Caterpillars of the Monarch butterfly are immune to the poison. While the Monarch butterfly ingests the poisonous plant, it becomes poisonous too. This is one of the many ways in which the milkweed is basically the 'guardian angel' of the Monarch butterfly. Why? When the Monarch butterfly becomes poisonous, this only means that predators are less likely to eat it. Consuming the milkweed makes the butterfly distasteful to predators. The milkweed diet also gives the butterfly a particularly vibrant orange color, making the butterfly easy to detect from afar, so that the predators will know to stay clear of it.
You might be wondering why the milkweed is such a friendly plant to the Monarch butterfly. Well, it is quite simple. The milkweed and the Monarch butterfly have a symbiotic relationship with each other. Symbiosis occurs in a mutual interaction where two organisms benefit from each other. Because the Monarch butterfly is free from predators and enjoys feeding on the sweet nectar that the milkweed provides, it helps the plant by spreading its pollen to other milkweed plants. Pollination is necessary for milkweed reproduction and variation, where more productive milkweed offspring is attained, ensuring that there is more milkweed available for the future generations of the Monarch butterfly.
Challenges of the Milkweed
In all things in nature, there are advantages and disadvantages, and recently, there is trouble in paradise as the milkweed plant is on the road to extinction. This automatically means that the Monarch butterfly is an endangered species as well. The milkweed has the possibility of becoming extinct due to a number of reasons. First, the Oyamel fir forest in Mexico is slowly disappearing.
The Monarch butterfly is a migrating species. During the winter, it flies to California or Mexico. Its largest habitat in Mexico is the Oyamel forest , which usually has an incredible bloom of flowers. But there has been constant air pollution near the forest and the cutting of timber for industrial purposes. The bark beetle infestation on the milkweed plants is also alarming. If care is not taken, the forest will not exist much longer.
Additionally, chemicals are being used to replace manual weeding on most farms. Some of these weed-killer chemicals are non-selective and they kill any plant, including milkweed. Without milkweed preservation, it could become a nearly extinct species.
Remedies to the Challenge
The reasons above are just a few of the many ways in which the milkweed could disappear. Scientists and plant breeders are taking measures to ensure that the Monarch butterfly does not disappear with the milkweed. Scientists are researching what other sources of food exist for the Monarch caterpillar. Recently, there has been an interesting development. Monarch butterflies are feeding on fresh cucumber skin and pumpkin pieces for their nourishment.
Although the pumpkin and cucumber trial is good progress, the extinction problem is still a possibility until scientists can find a plant where the adult Monarch butterfly lays eggs and the caterpillar hatched can gain nourishment from the same plant.
What do Monarch Butterflies Eat?
As stated earlier, the adult Monarch butterfly is completely different from the caterpillar. In its adult form, the butterfly has a straw-like structure located at the base of the head, which it unfolds to suck or siphon nectar from flowers and water from leaves and ponds and then fold it back when it is done feeding.
As soon as the butterfly emerges from its chrysalis and its wings are strong enough, it has to fly around in order to feed. The first flower that it feeds on is the milkweed flower, and then it proceeds to get food elsewhere. Milkweed is also very important for the survival of the adult butterfly. When the butterfly drinks nectar from the milkweed flowers, it becomes poisonous, meaning that no predators will want to eat it.
The Monarch butterfly is also a migrating species. In order to ensure the Monarch butterflies' survival, there are more than 20 varieties of milkweed plants located in different regions all around the United States, where the butterflies can feed, lay eggs, and protect themselves from predators.
Common Sources of Food
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The Monarch butterfly, however, does not survive solely on nectar . Sometimes, it can be seen sucking juice from pieces of freshly cut fruits, specifically watermelons, bananas, and oranges. Because nectar is a sugary liquid, the juices from these fruits serve as suitable substitutes. Peach and tangerine can also be fed to the butterfly, though rarely.
Additional flowers that the Monarch butterfly feed on are lilacs and goldenrods. The adult Monarch butterfly is relatively large. It, therefore, needs to feed on flowers that are all large with flat surfaces that they can perch or sit on while feeding. Besides flowers, some other plants also serve as sources of food for the Monarch butterfly. The wild carrot, the red clover, thistles, and the alfalfa plant are all great food sources. The pizza revenge of the ductape wizard mac os.
Mable & the wood (itch) mac os. The male butterflies have a way of getting nutrients directly from the ground. They simply place their body on the ground when it is muddy and moist. By doing this, they are able to absorb moisture directly from the earth. This process is known as mud-puddling.
If you are growing butterflies in a kit, the first food that you should give them immediately after emergence is sugar water, which provides the butterfly with energy. The appropriate amount is one part sugar with four parts water. When the butterflies are strong enough, you can then introduce the fruits and then fresh flowers or let them fly out depending on the temperature.
Conclusion
The Monarch butterfly also faces the danger of extinction not only because of the decreasing population of the milkweed, but also due to recent changes in weather patterns that lead to untimely weather events, such as strong winds, hail, and freezing temperatures. These unforeseen temperatures affect the Monarch butterflies on the ground and even during migration.
Ensuring that the butterflies have enough food and energy will aid greatly in helping them survive the harsh weather. It is therefore important to provide the Monarch butterfly with enough food from the point at which they start feeding.
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What do Monarch butterflies eat? Caterpillars have to be in a place with enough milkweed to take them through the cycle before they become chrysalises. During the fifth instar, you can introduce some fresh pumpkins and cucumber to them. The adult Monarch butterflies should never be allowed to stay hungry or feed less than they want as they require maximum energy for egg laying and mating. They do best with a plentiful diet of nectar, sugar water, or fruit juices.
