Stats

Lifespan: A few weeks
Size: Medium
Diet: Herbivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Colony
Biome: Temperate grassland
Range: North America
Movement: Flight
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Toxins
Status: G4

About

An orange-and-black brush-footed butterfly famous for its multigenerational migration of up to 4,800 km, with the autumn generation living roughly eight times longer than its summer-bred kin to overwinter in central Mexico's oyamel firs.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A tiny ribbed egg laid on the underside of a host-plant leaf, hatching within days.
2.
caterpillar
A voracious caterpillar feeds and molts through several instars, growing rapidly.
3.
chrysalis
A chrysalis hangs sealed and still while the body remodels into a winged adult.
4.
butterfly
A winged adult with full scales and coloration, ready to fly and mate.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Danaus
Species: Danaus plexippus