7 Monarch Butterfly Facts – Do They Migrate?

The monarch butterfly is one of only about 70 butterflies in New Zealand. Here are 7 facts about these native butterflies that only arrived recently.

The other day when I got back home and stepped out of my van I saw a super cool sight. I saw a beautiful Monarch butterfly sitting on a flower right next to the door of my van. I was a bit surprised to see this butterfly probing the flowers with its proboscis because it is June, but there it was. I’m familiar with these butterflies from their long migrations in North America, but haven’t seen too many of them here in New Zealand.

7 Monarch Butterfly Facts

These are the largest butterflies in New Zealand with a 90 mm wingspan. They have orange/red-brown wings with black edges and veins. There are many small white and yellow dots on the edges of the wings.

Monarchs are native to the Americas, yet they are also native to New Zealand. I say that they are native, but they haven’t been here for millions or even hundreds of years. It is estimated that these hardy butterflies self introduced themselves to New Zealand about a hundred years ago.

In the Americas the Monarch butterfly migration is famous. They migrate from Mexico up to the northern parts of North America and then back south again. This butterfly may be a migrator in other areas, but the species here in New Zealand does not embark on such an epic journey. The New Zealand monarch butterflies do head towards more temperate climates within the country. They may make short migrations towards Christchurch or Tauranga.

Here is a general interesting butterfly fact for you. The Monarch butterfly is one of about 70 species of butterflies that resides in New Zealand. This is a relatively low number considering the size of the country. Scientists think that this may be partly due to the fact that normally butterflies live in open meadows and most of New Zealand was originally covered in forest.

The caterpillar of this butterfly may not be as obvious or as familiar as the adult, but it’s also cool looking. Just a quick reminder of the butterfly lifecycle – they hatch out of an egg as a caterpillar and then undergo metamorphosis where they change into a winged adult. Well, the caterpillar of this butterfly has white, yellow, and black bands along its length.

The caterpillar feeds on swan plants, a member of the milkweed family. The plants get their name from the seedpod which is shaped like a swan. The seed was brought to New Zealand from Africa, probably inadvertently by the early European settlers. Interestingly, the Monarchs in North America lay their eggs on milkweed plants.

The caterpillars live for only two weeks before they turn into a chrysalis. Another two weeks later they emerge as a winged adult butterfly. The next phase of their life, as a winged butterfly, spans about 2 months. If they are lucky they mate, the females lay eggs and the whole cycle begins again.