Butterflies are the exhibitionists of the insect world. For many invertebrates, camouflage is the best defence against predators, so how do brightly coloured butterflies protect themselves? The monarch has 2 defence mechanisms. read more
When the caterpillar larvae are small, monarchs are vulnerable to bug predators, and spiders can prey upon adult monarch butterflies as well. As adults, the Monarch's distinctive coloring stands out and warns predators that they are poisonous. read more
Poisonous butterflies, such as monarch butterflies, consume toxic plants. In the case of the monarch, the toxic plant of choice is milk weed. The butterflies are immune to the poison, but they sequester it in their bodies rather than excrete it, so that if a predator eats them, they become sick and develop an aversion to any other butterfly that resembles the one that made them ill. read more