The Monarch Butterfly
Fuerteventura Fauna: A closer look at the Monarch Butterfly, here in Fuerteventura.
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The Monarch Butterfly or “Danaus plexippus”
An Article by DaveG with The Voice Fuerteventura
I thought it would be nice to cover one of our inhabitants that clearly displays the wonderful oranges and autumnal colours that Fuerteventura is famous for.
Recently I went to the magnificent garden center on the outskirts of Puerto del Rosario with my friend Gearoid. While he was browsing the enormous range of plants and shrubs I noticed several butterflies near the car-park and upon investigation saw one of them was a Monarch.
COLOURFUL CATERPILLARS
The caterpillar of the Monarch Butterfly is a colourful insect just like the adults. It is striped with the bold warning colours of black and yellow and creamy white.This is to tell would-be predators that is nasty-tasting and poisonous.The Monarch caterpillar can only feed on species of Milkweed, which on Fuerteventura is usually the Scarlet Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) that is often grown in gardens and in flower borders.
There were other species there which I will tell you about another time. So next time you are in the Garden center in Rosario keep an eye out for this beauty.
