Monarch Butterflies

Did you know that millions of monarchs migrate 1200-3000 miles across the US and Canada into Central Mexico (and some to the coast of California) for the winter? They enjoy eating toxic Milkweed, which not only can they tolerate, but they also use as a defense mechanism by storing the toxins in their bodies, making them poisonous to predators.

 

The scientific name of the Monarch Butterfly is Danaus plexippus, which in Greek means sleepy transformation. Western monarchs have declined 90% since the 1980s according to the National Wildlife Foundation, so we are thrilled to have monarchs fluttering about the fields at Los Luceros.