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How does the viceroy butterfly not benefit from eating milkweed?
Wiki User
∙ 8y ago
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.
Wiki User
∙ 8y ago
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What butterflies are yellow and look like a monarch?
The Viceroy Butterfly looks almost identical to the monarch butterfly, and that makes the viceroy a mimic. Birds know that monarchs are not good to eat, so the viceroy avoids being eaten by looking like the monarch. The queen butterfly, the painted lady and others are sometimes mistaken for monarch butterflies.
Do butterflies spread pollen to create other flowers?
Butterflies are not going to flowers specifically to pollinate ..... A butterfly is eating nectar from flowers. Pollination is simply a by-product of the butterfly eating nectar.
Where does a monarch butterfly go in winter?
The monarch butterfly migrates south by flying. It flaps its wings. Something in its brain is hardwired to the location it must go and the directions it must follow. Monarch Butterfly larva must grow on milkweed. Other insects know where to lay their eggs so their young will grow on the proper food source. Aphids lay their eggs on maple trees. Milkweed will grow on land that was cleared during a winter storm. So, a Monarch would need to return from its winter quarters to a freshly cleared area of ground where Milkweed would sprout. Monarchs then needed to spend the winter in a place where the temperatures were such that they could survive. They would not freeze, but their temperature would be low enough they would not use up all their food resources. Then we can assume the ancestors of today's Monarchs began in the valleys of Mexico eating milkweed and other plants. Some ate more milkweed and flew to the top of the mountain and survived the winter. In spring they flew down to a milkweed patch and laid their eggs. Any birds that ate a milkweed fed caterpillar never ate another one. Some of those caterpillars turned into Monarchs that spent winter on the mountain. The process repeated. Soon Monarchs arose that ate only milkweed. They returned to the same mountain. Any Monarch Butterflies that did not return to that ideal location for the winter either froze to death or used up all their food storage before they found another patch of milkweed where they could lay their eggs. So today, Monarch Butterflies return to the ancestral location for the winter. In spring the males breed with the females and then the males die. The females find a new patch of milkweed, lay their eggs, and die. The new caterpillars will turn into monarchs that will fly north to find new patches of milkweed, breed, lay eggs, and die. Just before winter comes, the milkweed will die. The living monarchs will either return to their ancestral home where they can survive the winter or they will die without breeding.
Do monarch butterfly larva eat parsley?
We have parsley in our garden that is covered in Monarch eggs and there are 7 caterpillers eating the parsley leaves, not the stems. We were so surprised, they are about a week old now and 1inch long. We live in Northern Alambaba ****************** Unless your caterpillars are eating milkweed, you have found something other than a Monarch caterpillar. Female Monarchs lay their eggs exclusively on the milkweed plant and the caterpillars eat nothing but the leaves of the milkweed plant. This is one of the reasons why Monarchs are becoming more and more endangered. The milkweed is classed as a noxious plant in many jurisdictions and sprayed. I remember as a child finding "monarch" caterpillars on the carrot leaves in the garden and being disappointed when they turned into something other than a Monarch. The butterfly we discovered was just as beautiful - the Black Swallowtail. The caterpillars you find on parsley leaves are likely those of the Black Swallowtail which feed on the leaves of the carrot family, including celery, dill and parsley. The caterpillars bear a certain resemblance to the caterpillar of the Monarch. Search "Black Swallowtail" in Wikipedia to see a picture of one, or try this link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Swallowtail Compare that caterpillar with this image of a Monarch caterpillar at this Wikipedia site. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Monarch_Butterfly_Danaus_plexippus_Vertical_Caterpillar_2000px.jpg
A leaf-eating caterpillar turns into a nectar-eating butterflyHow is the feeding behavior an advantage for this species?
If a leaf eating caterpillar turns into a nectar eating butterfly, this feeding behavior allows the species to consume a larger variety of foods.
What butterflies are yellow and look like a monarch?
The Viceroy Butterfly looks almost identical to the monarch butterfly, and that makes the viceroy a mimic. Birds know that monarchs are not good to eat, so the viceroy avoids being eaten by looking like the monarch. The queen butterfly, the painted lady and others are sometimes mistaken for monarch butterflies.
How does a monarch butterfly obtain and store toxins?
When the monarch is in its pupa stage, it eats milkweed, which is a poisonous plant. This leads it to be poisonous once it turns into a butterfly.
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!
Do Monarch Butterflies live in Swan Plants?
The monarch butterfly must lay their eggs on milkweed plants (Asclepias ), and the swan plant is listed on wikipedia as a type of milkweed. Most plants in the milkweed family produce flowers which the monarch can feed on. The caterpillars of the monarch butterfly can only eat leaves from plants in the milkweed family and will die without this food source. The milkweed plant is known for it's white milky sap, which contains alkaloids, latex, and several other complex compounds including cardenolides. Some species are known to be toxic. The caterpillars are immune to the milkweed sap and actually make themselves poisonous by eating it. The butterfly retains the milkweed poison as a defense against predators. Both the monarch caterpillars and the monarch butterflies use bright color patterns as a warning that they are dangerous to eat.
Is milkweed harmful to dogs?
Milkweed is toxic but I don't know of any dogs that were interested in eating it.
What is the stage after the larva stage?
When the butterfly is at a larvae stage it starts to eat leaves, but they eat milkweed plants to protect themselves from predators. Then later they start make a pupa to grow into a butterfly.
How does the monarch butterfly get its food?
eating food
What does a butterfly get eating by?
it takes honey from flowers
A leaf-eating caterpillar turns into a nectar-eating butterfly How is this feeding advantage for this species?
If a leaf eating caterpillar turns into a nectar eating butterfly, this feeding behavior allows the species to consume a larger variety of foods.
Why do milkweed bugs have patterns?
Milkweed bugs have distinct red and black patterns on their bodies as a form of warning coloration to signal to predators that they are distasteful or toxic due to the sequestered chemicals from milkweed plants they feed on. This coloration acts as a defense mechanism to deter predators from eating them.
Why do insect eating animals avoid milkweed bugs?
They are poi-sins milk weed is Poisson's fly Man
What is the benefit of eating rice?
The health benefit of eating rice is that it provides, carbohydrates and starch which are very important nutrients in our bodies.
