Monarch Butterfly

 

Linnaean Classification: Eukarya, Animalia, Arthropoda, Insecta, Lepidoptera, Danaidae, Danaus plexippus

 

Conformer because monarch butterflies are cold-blooded animals which means that they take on the temperature of their surroundings and cannot regulate internal temperatures.

 

Migration because monarch butterflies are not able to survive the cold winters of most of the United States so they migrate south and west each autumn to escape the cold weather. The monarch migration usually starts in about October of each year, but can start earlier if the weather turns cold sooner than that.

 

Specialists because monarch butterflies in their larval stage feed almost exclusively on milkweed and as adults get their nutrients from the nectar of flowers. Furthermore, monarch butterflies are very sensitive to climate changes especially those of wetter and colder winters. If they are dry, monarchs can survive below freezing temperatures, but if they get wet and the temperature drops they will freeze to death.

 

Consumer because monarch butterflies cannot make their own food and must get milkweed and nectar from other plants.

 

Herbivore because the monarch butterfly’s diet is based on milkweed and nectar from plants.

 

Niche: The niche of monarch butterflies is to fly around and disperse its eggs. Monarch butterflies also pollinate flowers, by transferring pollen from one flower to another, as they search for nectar inside the flowers. Monarch butterflies live in sub-tropical to tropical areas and in open habitats like fields, marshes, meadows, and cleared roadsides. Monarch butterflies are eaten by different species of mice and birds.