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Does this combination of adaptations make every monarch butterfly safe from birds?
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
No. Since new birds are hatched every year, the young ones won't know that monarchs taste so bad. Also, the viceroy butterfly looks like a monarch. Birds eat it and it tastes good. So if that bird sees a monarch it thinks is a viceroy butterfly, it'll eat it.
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
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How does the viceroy butterfly not benefit from eating milkweed?
The viceroy butterfly does not eat milkweed, it is a mimic of the monarch butterfly which does eat milkweed. The milkweed makes the monarch butterfly toxic to birds. Once a bird eats its first monarch butterfly it gets so sick that it learns to never try to eat anything that looks like a monarch butterfly ever again. The viceroy butterfly has evolved to mimic the monarch butterfly to avoid being eaten by birds that have previously tried eating a monarch butterfly.
What eats a monarch butterfly?
nothing eats a monarch butterfly because it is poisonous.
What are a butterfly's defenses?
Monarch butterflies, for example, are poisionous to birds. The taste very bad and make birds sick enough to teach them a lesson.
Is a butterfly harmful?
The Viceroy is a poisonous butterfly, just like the Monarch. The confusion about the Viceroy toxicity comes from 19th century ideas about mimicry. Unfortunately, entymologists failed to test the theory until 1991. Even today many text books erroneously discuss the Viceroy as non-toxic. The Monarch was early identified as poisonous and entymologists immediately assumed the Viceroy was not. However, after testing, the Viceroy Butterfly is at least at toxic as the Monarch. The question is - which is the immitation? The Viceroy Butterfly is almost indistinguishable from the Monarch Butterfly.
What are butterflies?
Butterflies like the viceroy have adaptations that help them survive. The viceroy would make a tasty snack for birds if they didn't look like the monarch. The Monarch Butterflies bright colours and horrible taste to birds help them survive. Birds stay away from them. The viceroy has an advantage by looking almost exactly like the monarch. I hope that helps you!
How does the monarch butterfly benefit from its adaptation?
The monarch butterfly produces a chemical that gives its body a very bitter taste; which birds hate. They get that taste from the Milkweed plant which they feed on. These are the adaptations of the Monarch butterfly and it benefits by feeding on the milkweed plant and stays safe.
What butterfly is bad tasting for birds?
The Monarch butterfly is bitter-tasting to most birds.
How does the viceroy butterfly not benefit from eating milkweed?
The viceroy butterfly does not eat milkweed, it is a mimic of the monarch butterfly which does eat milkweed. The milkweed makes the monarch butterfly toxic to birds. Once a bird eats its first monarch butterfly it gets so sick that it learns to never try to eat anything that looks like a monarch butterfly ever again. The viceroy butterfly has evolved to mimic the monarch butterfly to avoid being eaten by birds that have previously tried eating a monarch butterfly.
What eats a monarch butterfly?
nothing eats a monarch butterfly because it is poisonous.
What are three migratory animals in the south?
monarch butterfly, geese, and other birds
Is the viceroy's adaptations as effective as the monarch's?
Yes, The viceroy's adaptation of mimicry is as effective as the monarch's unpleasant taste because though the viceroy is not poisonous the birds who have tasted/fed on the monarch will avoid the viceroy due to the similar wing pattern.
What eats a butterfly?
The animals that eat a caterpillar or butterfly include spiders, frogs, lizards and birds.
What birds eat monarch butterflies?
yes they taste bad to the birds because they are posinious
What are a butterfly's defenses?
Monarch butterflies, for example, are poisionous to birds. The taste very bad and make birds sick enough to teach them a lesson.
Is a Monarch Butterfly a predator or prey?
Predators of the Monarch Butterfly are Spiders, Wasps, some bird species and many more.
What is an example of minicry?
The monarch butterfly eats milkweed and is so bitter to the taste as a result that birds avoid it. The viceroy butter fly mimics the monarch (looks like it) and receives the same protection.
Why does a viceroy butterfly looks sounds and moves like monarch butterfly?
Both Monarchs and Viceroy are equally poisonous to birds and other predators. This was not discovered until 1991, when entymologists examined the Batesian theory of mimicry and discovered that the Viceroy is also poisonous. The mimicry is possibly by both species - they are able to double up on predator recognition. If you have any other butterfly questions, e-mail them to me @ liviebug97@yahoo.com. I'd be more than happy to answer them for you!
