36 Brilliant Monarch Butterfly Facts

Published November 19, 2019

Monarch butterflies migrate 3,000 miles each year, and they can travel as many as 100 miles per day. They use a combination of air currents and thermals to travel such long distances._[1]
Once a monarch butterfly hatches, it only lives for about 2 to 6 weeks._[1]
Monarch butterflies were the first butterflies to have their genome sequenced._[6]
Monarchs have been bred on the International Space Station._[6]
The monarch butterfly is the official state butterfly of seven states._[6]

The beautiful orange of the monarch butterfly so impressed early settlers that they named it "Monarch" after King William III, Prince of Orange

Monarch butterflies are named after King William III (aka Prince of Orange), who mentions their orange color._[1]
Monarchs are the only butterflies to make a two-way migration, like birds do._[5]
The farthest ranging monarch butterfly recorded traveled 265 miles—in one day._[5]
Scientists believe that monarchs use a combination of the earth's magnetic pull and the position of the sun to help them find their way during migration._[5]
Monarchs huddle together to stay warm. On one tree alone, tens of thousands of monarchs can cluster._[5]
Monarchs fly at a speed of about 5.5 mph (9 km/h). An average human jogs between 6–8 mph._[5]
Like all insects, monarch butterflies have six legs. However, its forelegs are vestigial, so it only uses its middle legs and hind legs._[5]
Monarch butterflies can fly as high as 10,000 feet._[1]
Monarch butterfly migration is instinctual. So, a butterfly may not live to make it back to its birthplace, but the butterflies born from its eggs will, even though they have never been there before._[1]
A black dot on the inside surface of a monarch's wings distinguishes the male monarch butterfly from the female, which has no spots._[2]

Male monarch butterflies have two black dots on their hind wings and thinner black webbing within the wings

A male monarch courts a female by rubbing his antennae on her head and thorax._[2]
A monarch butterfly's wings flap slower than other butterflies' wings, at 300 to 720 times a minute._[2]
In Australia, monarch butterflies are also known as wanderer butterflies or milkweed butterflies._[2]
Because monarch caterpillars feed on milkweed plants, which are poisonous, monarchs become toxic to birds and other animals._[2]
The brain of a monarch butterfly is no larger than the head of a pin._[2]
Thousands of tiny, colorful scales cover the surface of a monarch's wing. Loss of these scales is what causes monarchs to lose their color._[2]
Monarchs eat and can gain about 2,700 times their original weight._[2]
Butterflies smell and taste with their antennae and legs._[2]
Monarch butterfly numbers have decline by 80% in the past decade._[8]
Most monarch butterflies raised in captivity lack the ability to migrate successfully._[8]
Monarch caterpillars breathe through holes in the sides of their bodies._[4]

Do you love monarch butterflies as much as we do?

In 2002, a rainstorm with low temperatures killed as many as 250 million monarchs in Mexico. An estimated 80% of the butterflies died at one of their mountain sanctuaries._[4]
Since butterflies are so small, a mile is much farther for them than for people. A butterfly's nearly 3,000-mile migration is similar to a person traveling 275,000 miles, which is like circling the globe 11 times._[4]

The monarch butterfly migration is one the greatest events on Earth

Migrating monarchs can fly up to 30 miles per hour, which is about 3 times faster than humans can run._[4]
A female monarch carries up to 400 eggs. As she flies from leaf to leaf, she places only one or two eggs on each leaf._[4]
One threat to monarch caterpillars is the tachinid fly. These parasitic flies lay tiny eggs on monarch butterflies that burrow into the caterpillar and eat it from the inside out._[3]

Milkweed is poisonous, and when monarch caterpillars eat the plant, they become poisonous too

Because humans have destroyed so much milkweed, scientists believe that monarch butterflies could be extinct within the next 30 years._[1]
Monarch caterpillars have six pairs of tiny eyes, but they don't see very well._[4]
Male monarchs court female monarchs by rubbing his antennae on her head and thorax._[7]
One particularly gruesome disease monarch caterpillars can fall victim to is Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus, or black death. This virus causes the caterpillar to deflate, turn black, and then liquify._[3]
A small monarch caterpillar can eat one large milkweed leaf in less than 5 minutes._[1]