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Monarch terminology— learning to speak “butterfly”

The monarch butterfly: Latin (scientific) name is Danaus plexippus – (duh-NAY-us PLEX-ip-us) The metamorphosis of a monarch takes place as it transforms from the stages of an egg, to a larva, to a pupa, to a butterfly. Larva – (LAR-vuh), plural, larvae (LAR-vee) the second stage, after the egg, in metamorphosis. Also known as “caterpillar.” …

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The Lifecycle of the Monarch Butterfly

With so many of us interested in following the progress of monarch caterpillars, chrysalides, and butterflies I thought this visual might be helpful to understand the progression and timing of their lifecycle. It comes from journeynorth.org, which tracks the migration of many species of butterflies, birds, and other species.

Tropical Milkweed – Asclepias Curassavica – bad for western monarchs

Are we doing more harm than good by providing this non-native milkweed to the western US monarch population? We here at Monarch Milkweed Project strongly discourage planting Tropical Milkweed. Because this variety of milkweed doesn’t die off in the winter but survives the mild winter climate of the West, its year round availability encourages the …

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