Monarch Butterfly Migration
The Migration of Monarch Butterflies
The yearly autumn mass migration of the North American Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus), starting in September and October of each year, is a truly amazing phenomenon! Did you know that the Monarch Butterflies of North America can migrate up to 3000 miles? It's hard to imagine that something as delicate-looking as a butterfly can travel that far, but some North American monarchs migrate very long distances, as far as from Canada to Central Mexico. Monarchs are one of the most widely rec...

From caterpillar to monarch
A study of the Metamorphosis
As an educator, photographer and writer I thought that a Monarch Rearing Kit would be a great investment. I could raise caterpillars and journal their metamorphosis through words and pictures. Well, I am glad that I purchased the kit because it was a wonderful experience for me and hopefully will prove to be an educational experience for others!

A Day In Butterfly Paradise
Dreamworld of Exotic Butterflies in a Pacific Rainforest
Entering a lush tropical rain forest, the air heavy with mist, the stream sparkles before me. It runs in a rivulet before becoming lost in the tangle of orchids, glossy green leaves, and the towering overhang of Pacific rainforest trees. Directly ahead, a stairway leads into the path that curves away from view, so that I notice the richly colored blooms that screen it and stop to gaze at their perfect forms. Following the turn, a fantastical sight of twisting turrets in yellow, streaked with ...

Butterfly Life Cycle
The Butterfly Life Cycle
Butterflies are some of the most colourful and attractive insects on the planet. There are several thousand species of butterflies belonging to about six families (or more, in other systems of classification) and constituting the subfamily Papilionoidea. Along with the moths and the skippers, they make up the insect order Lepidoptera. Butterflies are nearly worldwide in distribution. Like those of moths, the wings, bodies, and legs of butterflies are covered with dustlike scales that come o...