Monarch Butterfly Feeds In Late Summer Before Migration Royalty-Free Stock Image

Monarch caterpillars ingest milkweed that contains a toxic compound. The presence of this toxin is used by the monarch butterfly as a defense against predators. In late August, masses of monarch butterflies begin an epic migration stretching thousands of miles from areas across the United States and as far north as Canada east of the Rocky Mountains to overwinter in mountaintops of Central Mexico. This butterfly shows a section bitten off wing from a predator. The wings look like stained glass, with reddish-orange coloration and conspicuous black veins bordered in black and speckled with white dots. Males have thinner veins with a black dot on the inside of the hind wings; females have thicker veins and lack the dot. Monarch butterflies are found in open meadows and fields that usually contain a variety of wildflowers including milkweed.