Milkweed butterfly facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Milkweed butterflies
Three Milkweed butterflies
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
(unranked):	Rhopalocera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Subfamily:	Danainae

The Danainae are a group of butterflies. They are also known as Milkweed butterflies or danaids. There are over 200 different kinds of these butterflies. They belong to the Nymphalidae family.

About Milkweed Butterflies

These butterflies live in warm, tropical places around the world. One very famous butterfly, the Monarch (Danaus plexippus), is part of this group.

Amazing Defenses

Milkweed butterflies have a special way to protect themselves. When they are young, as larvae (caterpillars), they eat milkweed plants. These plants have natural chemicals called glycosides. The caterpillars take in these chemicals.

A male Danaus chrysippus butterfly with special hairs.

These chemicals make the butterflies taste bad to animals that might want to eat them. Birds quickly learn not to eat Milkweed butterflies after trying one. This strong defense keeps them safe from almost all predators. Monarch, Queen, and Soldier butterflies are examples that use this trick.

Male Butterflies: Special Features

Male Milkweed butterflies have special body parts. They have small, brush-like hairs at the end of their abdomen. These hairs can be pulled back inside their body.

Males also have spots on their bottom wings. These spots release special scents. These scents help the male butterflies attract females when they are looking for a mate. During courtship, the male raises his abdomen. He then puts his hair brushes into the scent spots. This helps him spread the special chemicals to attract a female.

Images for kids

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  A robot friend.