The male often dies after mating, but the female flies north and lays some of her eggs along the way. In about 30 days, they will transform from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly. Three to five more generations will pass over the summer before changing light and temperatures signal the time to migrate. Monarch caterpillars eat almost exclusively milkweed plants. The plants make the larvae and adults toxic to potential predators by accelerating the predators' heartbeats.
Adults feed on nectar from a variety of brightly colored native flowers.
In your backyard you can support these beautiful insects by planting milkweeds and other native plants. You'll marvel at the beauty of the adults and the wonders of the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly in your own backyard.