Monarch migration makes its way through West Texas

For a naturalist, living in West Texas definitely has its share of fringe benefits.

The diversity of the flora and fauna that can be observed here is nothing short of amazing.

One of the amazing feats of nature west Texans are privy to are the roundtrip travels of a small insect.

Of course, one does not have to be a naturalist to be impressed with the epic journey that the monarch butterfly makes every year, as well as the beauty that this species possesses.

The monarch butterfly’s (Danaus plexippus) natural range is rather mushroom-shaped in appearance.

It frequents the small Mexican states of Michoacán and Mexico during the winter months, while it occupies a large east-west ranging portion of the northern United States and southern Canada during the summer months.

It is during its travels to these haunts that it passes through the corridor of West Texas.

The monarch will typically make its appearance here first in mid-April to early May as it heads north to its summer breeding home, and then appear here again in late September to early November (October is the prime time!) as the youngsters travel back to the warmer climate of their winter home.

Many people are under the impression that the monarch is the only species of butterfly that migrates; however, there is another species of butterfly that also makes a long airborne journey that usually makes its appearance in tremendous numbers a month or so before the monarch does, and that species is the American snout.

This species is considerably smaller and less colorful than the monarch, but none-the-less, it is often mistakenly referred to a “baby monarchs”.

The monarch butterfly is one of the most distinctive and colorful butterflies that occurs in West Texas.

The upper wings are dark orange in coloration and are bordered in black.

There are numerous small white spots randomly situated inside this black border, as well as along the rear edges of the orange-colored wings.

There are also several orange spots close to the tips of the forewings, and the veins and margins are deep black. The head and thorax are black and the head is littered with small white spots, while the thorax is solid black.

The abdomen has several pairs of white lines that traverse either side of this body part. As this butterfly lands, the wings are clasped together to reveal the under wings, which are yellow-orange in coloration, rather than being dark orange like the upper wings.

The under wings also have larger white spots than the ones that appear on the upper wings.

This species is also sexually dimorphic, which means that the males and females have differences in coloration. Males have a black patch of scales along the hind wings that are responsible for the release of female-attracting pheromones, and the black lines on the veins are much narrower than those that appear on the female.

Males are also the larger sex, with adults achieving a total wingspan of approximately four inches, while mature females only attain a wingspan of about three and one-half inches.

This type of butterfly is an almost plant-specific feeder, feeding on the flowers of most milkweed species. It utilizes an appendage known as a proboscis to feed on these items.

The proboscis is long and almost threadlike, and in times of non-use is curled up under the head of the butterfly.

The monarch, like other butterfly species, undergoes a four-stage life cycle that can be described as nothing short of miraculous. In the beginning stage, their life begins as an egg, which hatches after a few short days into the next stage.

Upon hatching, the larvae are known as caterpillars, and at this stage, the growth rate is highly accelerated. Caterpillars can eat twice their body weight in a single day, and as such, grow quickly.

As they grow, they literally grow out of their skins, and they shed their outer layer of skin up to five times (known as molting) before they enter the next stage of their life cycle.

Caterpillars of the monarch are quite colorful as they are banded with white, black, and yellow rings, and attain a length of about two inches. After the caterpillar finds a spot in which it feels is secure, it will pupate as it forms a protective shell about it known as a chrysalis.

The chrysalis version of the monarch is pale blue-green with small golden spots. Inside of this shell, the larvae changes into the butterfly that it will soon become.

After about a week, the adult will emerge from this shell with its wings intact, although they are crumpled into small balls on the sides of the body. The butterfly will then pump a clear fluid into the veins of their wings, causing them to expand much the same way a stick can reinforce a kite.

Upon reaching maturity, the monarch will immediately begin searching for food, water and a mate. After mating, the males will continue their search for other receptive females, while the females will begin to look for a site suitable to lay eggs so a brand-new life cycle can begin.

Like its close relative, the queen butterfly, the monarch is a poisonous species of butterfly, said to be quite bitter and distasteful.

As such, the viceroy, another species of butterfly, has adapted to look like, or mimic, the monarch.

Michael Price is owner of Wild About Texas, an educational company that specializes in venomous animal safety training, environmental consultations and ecotourism. Contact him at wildabouttexas@gmail.com.