🐦 Ruby-throated hummingbird vs Monarch butterfly 🦋
The ruby-throated hummingbird and the monarch butterfly are about the same size. The ruby-throated hummingbird is about 3 times as fast as the monarch butterfly. The ruby-throated hummingbird weighs about 7 times as much as the monarch butterfly.
| Row | 🐦 Ruby-throated hummingbird | 🦋 Monarch butterfly |
|---|---|---|
| Top speed The ruby-throated hummingbird is about 3 times as fast as the monarch butterfly. | 60 mph97 km/h1 | 9.9 to 30 mph16 to 48 km/h2 |
| Weight The ruby-throated hummingbird weighs about 7 times as much as the monarch butterfly. | 0.11 to 0.12 oz3 to 3.5 g3 | 0.018 oz0.5 g4 |
| Lives The ruby-throated hummingbird usually lives about 100 times as long as the monarch butterfly. | 5 to 9 years5 to 9 years5 | 0.04 to 0.1 years0.04 to 0.1 years4 |
| Eats The ruby-throated hummingbird eats plants and animals; the monarch butterfly eats plants. | nectar from flowers, and tiny insects | nectar from flowers; its caterpillars eat only milkweed |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | eastern North America in summer; Mexico and Central America in winter | across North America, flying to Mexico and California for the winter |
Which one? Ruby-throated hummingbird or monarch butterfly
🏁 Who would win the race?
The ruby-throated hummingbird gets to the tree first. Over a short dash it is about 3 times as fast as the monarch butterfly. It isn't quite fair: the ruby-throated hummingbird is diving through the air and the monarch butterfly is flying.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed.
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The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/hummingbird-vs-monarch-butterfly
- 🐦 All about the ruby-throated hummingbird
- 🦋 All about the monarch butterfly
- ⚖️ Compare Two
- 🐾 All the animals
Where these numbers come from
- National Park Service, Northeast Temperate Network, checked 30 October 2026.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Monarch Butterfly Festival page, checked 30 October 2026.
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, checked 30 October 2026.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, species profile, checked 30 October 2026.
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, checked 30 October 2026.