Monarch butterfly

The monarch is one of the best-known butterflies in the world. It has bright orange wings crossed with black lines and edged with little white dots. From wing tip to wing tip a monarch is about as wide as your hand, roughly nine to ten centimetres across.

A monarch begins life as a tiny egg on a plant called milkweed. Out hatches a stripy caterpillar of yellow, black, and white. The caterpillar munches milkweed leaves and grows fast. Milkweed tastes bad and keeps the caterpillar safe, and that yucky taste stays with the butterfly, too, so birds learn to leave it alone.

When the caterpillar is big enough, it makes a smooth green case around itself called a chrysalis. Inside, something wonderful happens. After about two weeks the case opens and a brand-new butterfly climbs out, spreads its wings, and flies away.

Grown monarchs sip sweet nectar from flowers. Most only live for a few weeks. But one special group each year is different: when the weather turns cold, these monarchs set off on a huge journey, flying great distances to warmer places to rest for the winter, then heading back when spring returns.

Monarchs need our help. The kind that makes this long journey is now listed as vulnerable, which means its numbers have been falling. They have fewer milkweed plants to lay eggs on, and changing weather makes the trip harder. We can help by planting milkweed and flowers so monarchs have food and a safe place to grow.