Monarch Butterfly

Kingdom: Animalia

Characteristics that place it here:

~ multicellular with specialized eukaryotic cells

~ rely on other organisms for nourishment

~ ingest food in an internal cavity

~ have their own means of locomotion

Phylum: Arthropoda

Characteristics that place it here:

~ include an incredibly diverse group of taxa such as insects

~ bilaterally symmetrical protostomes with strongly segmented bodies

~ body covered with an exoskeleton made up primarily of the protien chitin; lipids,

other proteins, and calcium carbonate also play a role

Class: Insecta

Characteristics that place it here:

~ doesn't have a very large body

~ a body composed of 3 tagmata, a head, thorax, and aboden

~ a pair of relatively large compound eyes and usually 3 cells located on the head;

a pair of antennae on the head

~ three pairs of walking legs

~ two pairs of wings

Order: Lepidoptera

Characteristics that place it here:

~ outer body is covered by tiny sensory hairs and the wings are covered by scales

~ head carries many sensory apparati for the butterfly

~ compound eyes enables it to be aware of it's immediate surroundings through a

large angle

Family: Danaidae

Characteristics that place it here:

~ Large orange-colored butterflies with black veins and white-spotted black outer margins.

~ Front legs reduced, as in the Nymphalidae and Saturidae.

Genius: Danaus

Characteristics that place it here:

~ larva feed on a wide range of milkweeds of the genus Asclepias

~ they acquire and store cardiac glycosides, secondary plant compounds that protect them from predation

Species: Danaus Plexippus

Characteristics that place it here:

~adults of the species forage for flower nectar.

~Danaus plexippus is a predminantly open country.

~frost intolerant species whose range of breeding habitats is greatly dependent upon the presence of milkweeds.

~dense tree for overwintering is required by Monarch butterflies

References: picture adver-net.com on January 10, 2001 http://adver-net.com/Monemerg.html

Information from the animal Diversity web on January 10, 2001

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/danaus/d._plexippus$narrative.html

Additional information at Eny 3005 Family Identification on January 10, 2001

http://www.askjeeves.com/main/metaanswer.asp?metaEngine=directhit&origin=0&MetaURL=http%3A%2F%2Fask%2Edirecthit%2Ecom%2Ffcgi%2Dbin%2FRedirURL%2Efcg%3Furl%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eifas%2Eufl%2Eedu%2F%7Eeny3005%2Flab1%2FLepidoptera%2FDanaid%2Ehtm%26qry%3DDanaidae%26rnk%3D1%26src%3DDH%5FAsk%5FSRCH&qCategory=jeeves&metaTopic=Family+Identification+%2D+Danaidae&ItemOrdinal=0&logQID=881BE8EC0170AC468EBF0E7F9F285D74&sv=26&back=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Easkjeeves%2Ecom%2Fmain%2Faskjeeves%2Easp%3Fask%3DDanaidae%26origin%3D0%26site%5Fname%3DJeeves%26metasearch%3Dyes%26ads%3D%26Ask%2521%2Ex%3D16%26Ask%2521%2Ey%3D13

Additional pictures from Monarch watch Butterfly Gardening on January 10, 2001

http://www.monarchwatch.org/garden/index.htm

Poem: