Monarch
Danaus plexippus

f25 @ 1/320s, ISO:2500, Nikon D3S w 105mm macro

"Monarch," Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.An adult butterfly emerges after about two weeks as a chrysalis, and hangs upside down for a few hours until its wings are dry. Fluids are pumped into the wings, which expand, dry, and stiffen. The monarch extends and retracts its wings, and once conditions allow, flies and feeds on a variety of nectar plants. During the breeding season, adults reach sexual maturity in four or five days. However, the migrating generation does not reach maturity until overwintering is complete. Monarchs typically live for two to five weeks during their breeding season. Larvae growing in high densities are smaller, have lower survival, and weigh less as adults compared with those growing in lower densities. Monarch metamorphosis from egg to adult occurs during the warm summer temperatures in as little as 25 days, extending to as many as seven weeks during cool spring conditions. During the development, both larvae and their milkweed hosts are vulnerable to weather extremes, predators, parasites and diseases; commonly fewer than 10% of monarch eggs and caterpillars survive. However, this is a natural attrition rate for most butterflies, since they are low on the food chain.

Francis A. Crane Wildlife Management Area, East Falmouth, Massachusetts

07/15/2021