nzButterfly.info > New Zealand Species > Resident Species > Monarch

Monarch

Kahuku

Danaus plexippus

Scientific Classification More info

Family

Nymphalidae

SubFamily

Danainae

Tribe

Danaini

Genus

Danaus

Taxon

plexippus

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Also Known As;

Wanderer (Aust)

Description

Allegedly self-introduced, the Maori name suggests it was seen before Europeans came to New Zealand, but it certainly was helped to establish by Europeans bringing Swan Plant for gardens. It was known that some people spread populations around the country. The larvae are preyed on by Wasps (including Pteromalus Puparum - realised to control the White Butterfly), Solder Bugs & Praying Mantises. Known to chase off birds near breeding grounds. There isn't any recorded long-distance migration in New Zealand as there is in North America.

Ovum In English

Generally laid on the underside of the leaves separately. Creamy colour when laid & deepening to yellow before hatching. It is cone-shaped with 20-25 vertical ribs. They hatch in about 5-7 days. The shell is eaten by the newly hatched larva for it's first meal.

Larvae In English

Conspicuous Black, White & Yellow 'Tiger' stripes. Have 2 pairs of filaments, 1 pair at the front & 1 pair at the rear. The larvae live about 2-3 weeks & have 5 instars. Larvae are seeked out by all wasps. Most Wasps are habitual in foraging, so if you have the foodplant in a pot, just moving the pot will delay the wasps in eating all the ovum & larvae, which they'll do once they found their source of food. They most actively feed by day, but also feed on warm nights. 3rd to 5th instar larvae will chew part-way through the stem of the leaf to let it droop, before starting to eat the leaf from the tip (or, more often, part-way down). This is to stop the plant 'bleeding' sticky sap & making feeding easier. They have no concept of social welfare as older larvae will happily munch their way through ovum & 1st instar larvae. They will also munch through a leaf or stem that holds a pupa, letting it drop to the ground (where it's unlikely to survive). Grows up to 50mm when fully grown.

Pupa In English

Jade green with band of golden spots at head end. Hangs upside down by cremaster in some nearby sheltered spot. Pupation lasts between 1 & 3 weeks depending on air temp. However they will die if the temperature drops under 5°C.

Imago In English

The imago has a 85 - 110mm wingspan, this depends an food supply for the larvae. It's everyday flight is a gentle gliding action, but if it feels threatened, then it can have strong, direct & sometimes rapid (up to 40km/h) flight. The American Monarchs are recorded as covering up to 100 kms per day on their migration flights. The male has narrow veins & androconial scales on the hindwings, while the female has thinker vein markings & no androconial scales on the hindwings. They take up to 4 hours to dry their wings on hatching. Autumn swarming usually appears to occur when the mean temperature drops below 10°C. This brings on the winter quiescence, where the imago is only seen in the middle of warm days drinking from flowers.

Habitat

The Monarch is seen as a garden Butterfly in New Zealand, but can be found anywhere in New Zealand especially the warmer urban areas where lots of people grow it's foodplants mentioned below.

Status & Distribution

Extensive Found in gardens nationwide up to 1,000 metres. There has even being sightings in Stewart Island in recent years, but there is no evidence of a breeding population on the island yet.

Food Plants

It's main foodplants in New Zealand are Swan Plant (Gomphocarpus fruticosus), Giant Swan Plant (Asclepias physocarpus) & Tropical Milkweed - Bloodflower (Asclepias curassavica). In north America it's main foodplants are Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) - which is banned in NZ, Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), Swamp Milkweed Asclepias incarnata & other members of the Milkweed family (Asclepias spp). It will however feed on Moth Vine (Araujia hortorum (was Araujia sericifera)) & Tweedia (Tweedia caerulea). It's rumoured that in it's final stage it will be able to eat ripe Pumpkin fruit (Cucurbita spp) & successfully complete metamorphosis, but people report varying results & deformities using Pumpkin. The larvae need to eat mainly Swan plant or Milkweed to successfully pupate, as this gives them the chemicals they need to have a successful metamorphosis.

Alternative foodplant information is on this page.

Lifecycle

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