Part of milkweed butterfly  genus Danaus in four-footed butterfly  family Nymphalidae in butterfly/moth  order Lepidoptera in 🐞︎🐛︎🐜︎🐝︎ insect  class Insecta.

Native to North America.  Many groups, from their wintering grounds in 🇲🇽 Mexico, follow 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 and 🇨🇦 Canada, summering in a surprising large area, before following the late-season flowers back to their wintering grounds.  Learn more about this amazing story!  Occasionally seen in Central and South America, and even across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Nice poster of monarch butterfly Danaus plexippus lifecycle, larval host plants, adult nectar plants, and growing info for these plants (.pdf).

Mowing and Management:  Best Practices for Monarchs (.pdf).

Learn more about monarch butterfly Danaus plexippus

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