Yes, monarch butterflies are poisonous. Monarch Butterfly make the most distant migrations in the world of insects. Migrations are long journeys in which animals are launched in search of food, heat, water, etc. Summer monarchs spend in the open plains of North America. But in the winter it gets cold, so in autumn, to survive the unfavorable season, butterflies fly south – to California, Florida and Mexico.
The males of the monarch, like other butterflies, attract females for mating with special odoriferous substances – pheromones. Glands producing pheromones are found in the central part of the hind wings of monarchs. Female catches the smell with antennas (antennae).
Caterpillars of all members of this family feed on leaves of poisonous plants. The favorite food of caterpillars of monarchs is the leaves of the vat. That’s why female monarchs lay eggs only on these plants.
The caterpillar hatching from the egg first bites the main vein of the leaf, along which toxic substances enter from it from the stem, and only then begins to eat a less poisonous leaf blade. The poison gradually accumulates in her body, giving her a disgusting taste. The insect will have the same taste even after it turns into an adult butterfly. That’s why birds do not touch either the caterpillars of monarchs or the butterflies themselves.
