Part of
milkweed butterfly genus Danaus
in
four-footed butterfly family Nymphalidae
in
butterfly/moth order Lepidoptera
in
🐞︎🐛︎🐜︎🐝︎ insect class Insecta.
Native to much of North America, plus Central America and northern South America, extending to islands across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Uses by native peoples
(Ethnobotany database)
The monarch butterfly is famous for its migration from their ☃ wintering grounds in central 🇲🇽 Mexico, following the ⚘ spring flowers of
milkweed genus Asclepias and related genera
— the only host plant on which monarch's eggs and larvae will grow and survive — north through the 🇺🇸 USA then 🇨🇦 Canada, ⚘ summering in a surprisingly-large areas of these two countries, before following the late-season flowers back to their ☃ wintering grounds.
Above or to left is a robo-video of these ☃ wintering monarch butterflies. For full effect, select the video image,
then icons ⛶ fullscreen, ㏄ captions
, ▶︎ Play, and ⏯︎ ☒ Skip Ads. What an amazing story!
Other monarch population have different migration patterns; some populations have no need to migrate at all!
🚼︎ For kids! Enjoy this video of 🇲🇽 Mexican folktale The Butterfly/La Mariposa, that explains why butterflies do not live in houses, and why they migrate. Story told en español and in English.
For full effect, select the video image,
then icons ▶︎ Play and ⛶ fullscreen.
What an amazing story!
In 🇨🇦 Canada, 🇺🇸 USA and 🇲🇽 Mexico, see:
▭ maps of citizen science sightings
of monarch butterflies, their ⚫︎ eggs, 🐛︎ larvae, and fall roostings; as well as
🐦︎ hummingbirds family Trochilidae,
bald eagles Haliaeetus leucocephalus,
American robins Turdus migratorius,
gray whales Eschrichtius robustus,
🌷︎ tulips genus Tulipa,
☀︎ sunlight,
☃💧︎ ice-out,
🌱︎ leaf-out,
and more. Then if you want,
report your own sightings!
Poster of monarch butterfly Danaus plexippus lifecycle, larval host plants, adult nectar plants, and growing info for these plants. 
Mowing and Management: Best Practices for Monarchs.
For agricultural producers and land managers (USDA)
Xerces Society