Danaus plexippus

Danaus plexippus, commonly known as the monarch butterfly, is a well-known species recognizable for its vivid orange wings with black and white markings. It is renowned for its remarkable migration, traveling thousands of miles between North America and Central Mexico to escape winter and find suitable breeding conditions. The monarch's larvae feed exclusively on milkweed, which contains toxins that make both caterpillars and adult butterflies distasteful to predators. This species plays an important role in ecosystems as both pollinators and part of the food web, but it faces threats from habitat loss and environmental changes.