Monarch Butterfly
(Adopted 1975)

Our best known butterfly is orange with black veins and a black border with 2 rows of tiny white spots. Males have a black scent patch on the hindwing. The Monarch is distasteful to birds, thanks to the toxins it acquires from the milkweeds it eats as a caterpillar. The Viceroy is an edible mimic of the Monarch. Monarchs can be found in a wide variety of open areas throughout the U.S. and southern Canada. In fall, Monarchs migrate south to overwinter in huge numbers at a few sites in coastal California and central Mexico.