Animal Facts
While the monarch’s coloration looks beautiful to us, for predators it is a warning sign that the monarch tastes bad and may be poisonous. The milkweed they eat as caterpillars is loaded with heart toxins that most insect predators (birds, lizards, etc.) cannot handle. And even after metamorphosing into a butterfly, the insect still retains these chemical defenses.
Range
North and South America, Hawaii and Australia
Lives at Audubon Insectarium
