Male and female monarchs begin mating in their wintering grounds. The females lay up to 3 eggs on the underside of milkweed leaves that they find as they return to their summer range. The newly laid eggs hatch into hungry larva that eat and eat. The plant foods that larvae and adults eat are very different. Monarch larvae only eat the leaves of plants in the milkweed family.
Adult butterflies are much less choosy.
They will sip nectar from many different kinds of flowers. Have some more fun with our puzzles based on this article or another article at Ask a Biologist. Here are some other places to read and learn about monarchs. The Travels of Monarch X More information on butterflies in general can be located at the USGS . The Monarch Butterfly by Ivah Green.