The first frost of winter usually scares them off to more friendly climates down south like Mexico City or southern California. But as sure as the warm weather returns to the Wabash Valley every spring, so does our friend the "danaus gilippus," or queen monarch butterfly.
This type of monarch butterfly with bright orange wings and black and white patterns is prevalent in the Wabash Valley during the summertime and can be spotted on relatively warm days in weedy places such as roadsides and fields or in flower gardens. The average life spans about 3 to 12 months.
Kent Koerner, a graduate student in Indiana State University's Life Sciences Department, said the season for monarch butterflies is normally between mid-June through August, but because of this summer's unseasonably warm temperatures, their emergence occurred later than usual.
"This past year was not a good year for the monarch," Koerner said. "During the butterfly count in late July, I found only one egg and one butterfly. There's usually a lot more than that. . . These are cold-blooded so they really respond to weather. Weather could have a lot to do with it."
A new type of butterfly was spotted for the first time this year in Vigo County, Koerner said. the Silver Hairstreak, also known as "little blue," was reported for the first time during the July butterfly count.
"It's amazing how close you can get to a butterfly," he said. "When adults are feeding, they'll pretty much ignore you. Or early in the morning, they're too cold."
Koerner said when doing field work on butterflies he tries not to catch them because doing so can damage their wings and destroy their patterning.
"All their color patterning is scales that can be brushed off very easily," he said. "Once their wings are damaged, they can have a real hard time flying and become an easy target for predators."
Surprisingly, these winged-beauties are known throughout the bug world, and more important by birds, for having an unpleasant taste.
"They feed on the milkweed plant which has a very offensive taste, so it's like their protection," Koerner explained. "Birds know that the queen and monarch is awful-tasting and they leave it alone."
Return to Article Index