Monarch butterfly Facts for Kids
Danaus plexippus · DAN-ay-us plex-IP-us
An orange butterfly that flies all the way to Mexico for winter.
- 🏃 9.9 to 30 mph16 to 48 km/h1
- ⚖️ 0.018 oz0.5 g2
- 📏 2.8 to 3.9 in7 to 10 cm2 long
- 🎂 0.04 to 0.1 years0.04 to 0.1 years2
- 🍽️ plants
- Doing fine (Least Concern)
Monarchs are orange and black butterflies. Their caterpillars eat milkweed leaves. In fall, monarchs fly far away to stay warm.
A monarch starts as a striped caterpillar that eats only milkweed. It grows, makes a green case called a chrysalis, and comes out as a butterfly. Milkweed makes monarchs taste bad to birds, and their bright orange is a warning.
Every fall, monarchs from eastern North America fly to the mountain forests of central Mexico, where huge numbers cling together on the trees for the winter. No single butterfly makes the whole round trip: it takes several generations to fly back north in spring. You can help monarchs by planting milkweed and flowers in a garden.
How big is a monarch butterfly?
Monarch butterfly in numbers
| Length | 2.8 to 3.9 in7 to 10 cm2wingspan |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | no checked number yet |
| Weight | 0.018 oz0.5 g2average adult |
| Top speed (flying) | 9.9 to 30 mph16 to 48 km/h1flying, riding cold fronts |
| How long it lives | 0.04 to 0.1 years0.04 to 0.1 years2 |
| What it eats | nectar from flowers; its caterpillars eat only milkweed |
| Where it lives | across North America, flying to Mexico and California for the winter |
| What kind | Bugs and other animals without backbones |
| Is it in danger? | Doing fine (Least Concern)3 |
A number we couldn’t find on a page we trust says so, instead of guessing.
Wow!
- Its caterpillars eat only milkweed.
- Its bright orange tells birds: I taste bad!
- It takes several generations to make the round trip.
Compare the monarch butterfly
Friends and neighbours
Honey bee
Ruby-throated hummingbird
Seven-spotted ladybugThree questions
Books about the monarch butterfly, free at the library
Ask a grown-up to tap the button: it shows where to borrow a book about the monarch butterfly for free.
Where these numbers come from
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Monarch Butterfly Festival page, checked 30 October 2026.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, species profile, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, Monarch butterfly (Q212398), checked 30 October 2026.