FINAL:
The Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a milkweed butterfly in the family of Nymphalidae (Agrawal, 2017) – the largest family of butterflies with more than 5000 species (Government of Canada, n.d.). Their name translated from Greek, literally means “sleepy transformation”, to indicate their ability to hibernate and metamorphose (World Wildlife, n.d.).
A report by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) described different stages of a Monarch’s life cycle and how to identify them from other species. The study found that the butterfly’s egg is shiny and off white in colour. It has an oval shape with a flat base and pointed apex with approximately 18 ridges that run from base to apex. The caterpillar has distinctive colours of “green, yellow and black banded, with a pair of filaments at its head and tail” (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, 2010). World Wildlife Fund stated that adult butterflies have large distinguished bright orange-red wings with black veins and white spots on the edges (n.d.). The male is slightly larger than the female and possesses black dots along the veins of their wings (World Wildlife Fund, n.d.). In contrast, the female has noticeably thicker wing veins, which gives them a darker appearance, and their wing hinds do not present black dots (Gomez, n.d.).
The study by DeSare & Guerritore mentioned that butterflies and moths are amongst Lepidoptera – one of the largest insect orders in the world (2013). These types of species have scales that cover their wings and bodies, give them different variety of patterns and colours (DeSare & Guerritore, 2013). Scientists document and analyse the behaviour and lifestyle of this butterflies by observing their wing conditions. According to Monarch Lab, the average forewings were measured 50mm long (n.d.). The study went on to state that the scales covering the wings will be lost throughout their lives as they fly, attempt to mate and brush against plants. Therefore, it is possible to approximate a monarch’s age based on how many scales it has lost. At the same time, the study shows they have a mass of 0.5g depending on the stage of their life, as “butterflies use up the lipid reserves built up as larvae” (University of Minnesota Monarch Lab, n.d.).
Monarch butterflies captured the attention of researchers on long-term population studies with their “continent-wide distribution, multiple overlapping generations and annual long-distance migration” (Oberhauser & Solensky, 2004). Like most species native to temperate regions, the Monarch butterfly migrates to warmer climates during the winter months, due to lack of food (Environment Canada, 2014). Adult Monarch’s feed on the nectar of various wildflowers that are absent in sub-zero temperature; laying their eggs on the milkweed upon which their larvae feed, and from which their name, the milkweed butterfly, is derived (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, 2010).
According to Hoare (2009), the Monarch’s stored up their fats for the long journey that starts around end of August. The same study stated that millions of butterflies from northwest America and southwest Canada travelled to California, while the remaining population from eastern part of Canada and America headed towards Mexico as they breed and feed along the way. It also mentioned there are up to five generations of butterflies that live, reproduce and die with every breeding season. It continued saying that as the warmer temperatures arrived, the days lengthened, and the Monarch starts their journey back to North America. The original butterfly dies along the way, but the offspring it leaves behind continues on to the north where the cycle will start once again in autumn (Hoare, 2009).
(604 words)
References
Agrawal, A. (2017). Monarchs and Milkweed: A Migrating Butterfly, a Poisonous Plant, and Their Remarkable Story of Coevolution. Oxfordshire, UK: Princeton University Press.
Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. (2010). COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Monarch Danaus plexippus in Canada.
DeSare, J., & Guerritore, E. (2013). Lepidoptera : Classification, Behavior and Ecology. Hauppauge, New York, USA: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
Environment Canada. (2014). Management Plan for the Monarch (Danaus plexippus) in Canada. Species at Risk Act . Karine Bériault 2007.
Gomez, T. (n.d., Mar 1). Female or Male Monarch Butterfly? Retrieved 03 12, 2018, from Monarch Butterfly Garden: https://monarchbutterflygarden.net/female-or-male-monarch-butterfly-pictures/
Government of Canada. (n.d.). Family Nymphalidae. Retrieved 03 11, 2018, from Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: http://www.cbif.gc.ca/eng/species-bank/butterflies-of-canada/taxonomic-index/family-nymphalidae/?id=1370403265509
Hoare, B. (2009). Animal Migration: Remarkable Journeys in the Wild. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California, USA: Marshall Editions.
Oberhauser, K. S., & Solensky, M. J. (2004). The Monarch Butterfly: Biology & Conservation. Ithaca, New York, USA: Cornell University Press.
University of Minnesota Monarch Lab. (n.d.). Vital Statistics and Measuring. Retrieved 03 13, 2018, from Monarch Lab: https://monarchlab.org/biology-and-research/biology-and-natural-history/vital-statistics-measuring/
World Wildlife Fund. (n.d.). Monarch Butterfly. Retrieved 03 12, 2018, from WWF Canada: http://www.wwf.ca/conservation/species/monarch_butterfly/
World Wildlife. (n.d.). Monarch Butterfly. Retrieved 03 11, 2018, from WWF: https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/monarch-butterfly
SECOND DRAFT:
The Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a milkweed butterfly in the family of Nymphalidae (Agrawal, 2017) – the largest family of butterflies with more than 5000 species (Government of Canada, n.d.). Their name translated from Greek, literally means “sleepy transformation”, to indicate their ability to hibernate and metamorphose (World Wildlife, n.d.).
A report by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) described different stages of a Monarch’s life cycle and how to identify them from other species (2010). The study found that the butterfly’s egg is shiny and off white in colour. It has an oval shape with a flat base and pointed apex with approximately 18 ridges that run from base to apex. The caterpillar has distinctive colours of “green, yellow and black banded, with a pair of filaments at its head and tail” (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, 2010). World Wildlife Fund stated that adult butterflies have large distinguished bright orange-red wings with black veins and white spots on the edges. The male is slightly larger than the female and possesses black dots along the veins of their wings (World Wildlife Fund, n.d.). In contrast, the female has noticeably thicker wing veins, which gives darker appearance, and their wing hinds do not present black dots (Gomez, n.d.).
The study by DeSare & Guerritore mentioned that butterflies and moths are amongst Lepidoptera – one of the largest insect orders in the world. These types of species have scales that covered their wings and bodies, give them different variety of patterns and colours (DeSare & Guerritore, 2013). Scientists document and analyse the behaviour and lifestyle of this butterflies by observing their wings conditions. According to Monarch Lab, the average forewings were measured 50mm long. The content carry on stating that the scales covered the wings will be lost throughout their lives as they fly, attempt to mate and brush against plants. Therefore, it is possible to approximate a monarch’s age based on how many scales it has lost. At the same time, the study shows they have a mass of 0.5g depending on the stage of their life, as “butterflies use up the lipid reserves built up as larvae” (University of Minnesota Monarch Lab, n.d.).
Monarch butterflies captured the attention of researchers on long-term population studies with their “continent-wide distribution, multiple overlapping generations and annual long-distance migration” (Oberhauser & Solensky, 2004). Like most species native to temperate regions, the Monarch butterfly migrates to warmer climates during the winter months, due to lack of food. Adult Monarch’s feed on the nectar of various wildflowers that are absent in sub-zero temperature; laying their eggs on the milkweed upon which their larvae feed, and from which their name, the milkweed butterfly, is derived (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, 2010).
The Monarch’s stored up their fats for the long journey that starts around end of August. Millions of butterflies from northwest America and southwest Canada travelled to California, while the remaining population from eastern part of Canada and America headed towards Mexico. They breed and feed along the way. There are up to five generations of butterflies that live, reproduce and die with every breeding season. As warm temperatures and lengthening days arrive, the Monarch starts their journey back to North America. The original butterfly dies along the way, but the offspring it leaves behind continues on to the north where the cycle will start once again in autumn (Hoare, 2009).
(576 words)
References:
Agrawal, A. (2017). Monarchs and Milkweed: A Migrating Butterfly, a Poisonous Plant, and Their Remarkable Story of Coevolution. Oxfordshire, UK: Princeton University Press.
Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. (2010). COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Monarch Danaus plexippus in Canada.
DeSare, J., & Guerritore, E. (2013). Lepidoptera : Classification, Behavior and Ecology. Hauppauge, New York, USA: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
Gomez, T. (n.d., Mar 1). Female or Male Monarch Butterfly? Retrieved 03 12, 2018, from Monarch Butterfly Garden: https://monarchbutterflygarden.net/female-or-male-monarch-butterfly-pictures/
Government of Canada. (n.d.). Family Nymphalidae. Retrieved 03 11, 2018, from Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: http://www.cbif.gc.ca/eng/species-bank/butterflies-of-canada/taxonomic-index/family-nymphalidae/?id=1370403265509
Hoare, B. (2009). Animal Migration: Remarkable Journeys in the Wild. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California, USA: Marshall Editions.
Oberhauser, K. S., & Solensky, M. J. (2004). The Monarch Butterfly: Biology & Conservation. Ithaca, New York, USA: Cornell University Press.
University of Minnesota Monarch Lab. (n.d.). Vital Statistics and Measuring. Retrieved 03 13, 2018, from Monarch Lab: https://monarchlab.org/biology-and-research/biology-and-natural-history/vital-statistics-measuring/
World Wildlife Fund. (n.d.). Monarch Butterfly. Retrieved 03 12, 2018, from WWF Canada: http://www.wwf.ca/conservation/species/monarch_butterfly/
World Wildlife. (n.d.). Monarch Butterfly. Retrieved 03 11, 2018, from WWF: https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/monarch-butterfly
FIRST DRAFT:
The Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a milkweed butterfly in the family of Nymphalidae (Agrawal, 2017) – the largest family of butterflies with more than 5000 species (Government of Canada, n.d.). Their name translated from Greek, literally means “sleepy transformation”, to indicate their ability to hibernate and metamorphose (World Wildlife, n.d.).
A report by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) described different stages of a Monarch’s life cycle and how to identify them from other species. The study found that the butterfly’s egg is shiny and off white in colour. It has an oval shape with a flat base and pointed apex with approximately 18 ridges that run from base to apex. The caterpillar has distinctive colours of “green, yellow and black banded, with a pair of filaments at its head and tail” (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, 2010). World Wildlife Fund stated that adult butterflies have large distinguished bright orange-red wings with black veins and white spots on the edges. The male is slightly larger than the female and possesses black dots along the veins of their wings (World Wildlife Fund, n.d.). In contrast, the female has noticeably thicker wing veins, which gives darker appearance, and their wing hinds do not present black dots (Gomez, n.d.).
The study by DeSare & Guerritore mentioned that butterflies and moths are amongst Lepidoptera – one of the largest insect orders in the world. These types of species have scales that covered their wings and bodies, give them different variety of patterns and colours (DeSare & Guerritore, 2013). Scientists document and analyse the behaviour and lifestyle of this butterflies by observing their wings conditions. According to Monarch Lab, the average forewings were measured 50mm long. The content carry on stating that the scales covered the wings will be lost throughout their lives as they fly, attempt to mate and brush against plants. Therefore, it is possible to approximate a monarch’s age based on how many scales it has lost. At the same time, the study shows they have a mass of 0.5g depending on the stage of their life, as “butterflies use up the lipid reserves built up as larvae” (University of Minnesota Monarch Lab, n.d.).
Monarch butterflies captured the attention of researchers on long-term population studies with their “continent-wide distribution, multiple overlapping generations and annual long-distance migration” (Oberhauser & Solensky, 2004). Like most species native to temperate regions, the Monarch butterfly migrates to warmer climates during the winter months, due to lack of food. Adult Monarch’s feed on the nectar of various wildflowers that are absent in sub-zero temperature; laying their eggs on the milkweed upon which their larvae feed, and from which their name, the milkweed butterfly, is derived (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, 2010).
The Monarch’s stored up their fats for the long journey that starts around end of August. Millions of butterflies from northwest America and southwest Canada travelled to California, while the remaining population from eastern part of Canada and America headed towards Mexico. They breed and feed along the way. There are up to five generations of butterflies that live, reproduce and die with every breeding season. As warm temperatures and lengthening days arrive, the Monarch starts their journey back to North America. The original butterfly dies along the way, but the offspring it leaves behind continues on to the north where the cycle will start once again in autumn (Hoare, 2009).
(576 words)
References:
Agrawal, A. (2017). Monarchs and Milkweed: A Migrating Butterfly, a Poisonous Plant, and Their Remarkable Story of Coevolution. Oxfordshire, UK: Princeton University Press.
Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. (2010). COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Monarch Danaus plexippus in Canada.
DeSare, J., & Guerritore, E. (2013). Lepidoptera : Classification, Behavior and Ecology. Hauppauge, New York, USA: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
Gomez, T. (n.d., Mar 1). Female or Male Monarch Butterfly? Retrieved 03 12, 2018, from Monarch Butterfly Garden: https://monarchbutterflygarden.net/female-or-male-monarch-butterfly-pictures/
Government of Canada. (n.d.). Family Nymphalidae. Retrieved 03 11, 2018, from Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: http://www.cbif.gc.ca/eng/species-bank/butterflies-of-canada/taxonomic-index/family-nymphalidae/?id=1370403265509
Hoare, B. (2009). Animal Migration: Remarkable Journeys in the Wild. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California, USA: Marshall Editions.
Oberhauser, K. S., & Solensky, M. J. (2004). The Monarch Butterfly: Biology & Conservation. Ithaca, New York, USA: Cornell University Press.
University of Minnesota Monarch Lab. (n.d.). Vital Statistics and Measuring. Retrieved 03 13, 2018, from Monarch Lab: https://monarchlab.org/biology-and-research/biology-and-natural-history/vital-statistics-measuring/
World Wildlife Fund. (n.d.). Monarch Butterfly. Retrieved 03 12, 2018, from WWF Canada: http://www.wwf.ca/conservation/species/monarch_butterfly/
World Wildlife. (n.d.). Monarch Butterfly. Retrieved 03 11, 2018, from WWF: https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/monarch-butterfly
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