Monarch Caterpillar
Danaus plexippus (caterpillar)
This striped larva lives on milkweed plants in fields, roadsides, gardens, and open meadows. It feeds almost constantly on milkweed leaves, growing quickly through several molts. By eating milkweed, it stores bitter cardenolide toxins that make many predators avoid it. Its black, white, and yellow bands act as a warning rather than camouflage.
- Type
- Venom
- Conservation status
- LC
Growth chain
- Monarch Caterpillar
- Monarch Chrysalis
- Monarch