Adult female monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus)
Butterflies are hard to catch with my usual rig — you have to get very close and most butterflies won’t tolerate that, monarch included. This lovely female monarch (Danaus plexippus) was kind enough to let me try out my new iPhone 12 Pro Max on her — she’ll have to be my representative of an adult of this glorious species until I catch one sleeping with the “good” camera.
Fortunately for me, the caterpillars are slow enough I can catch them with the bigger camera. They already have striking coloration just like the adults:
Monarch butterfly caterpillar (Danaus plexippus)
Monarch butterfly caterpillar (Danaus plexippus)
If there’s anything you don’t already know about monarch butterflies, you’re unlikely to learn it from me [eats popcorn derpily]. Whole books have been written about this species; I certainly cannot contribute meaningfully in this space. On the other hand, the second question “People also ask” when you google “monarch butterfly” is “Can a monarch butterfly kill you?” so perhaps I do need to repeat all that has been said before….