Three Acre Tablea garden, a kitchen, a good excuse to gather
Danaus plexippus
Plate — illustration to come
ButterflyNative · New Jerseydeclining

Monarch Butterfly

Danaus plexippus

Nymphalidae

The one everybody knows. Bright orange with black veins and white-spotted black borders. New Jersey sits on the fall migration corridor — the last generation of the year is the one that flies to central Mexico, a journey of up to 3,000 miles for a butterfly that weighs half a gram.

Identify by

How to spot one.

  • 4-inch wingspan

  • Orange wings with black veins

  • White spots on black wing borders

  • Slow, gliding flight — very different from the fluttering of most butterflies

Life & behavior

How it lives.

Multi-generational migration. Summer generations live 2–5 weeks and reproduce; the fall generation lives 6–8 months and flies to overwintering sites in Mexico's Oyamel fir forests. NJ hosts breeding populations May–September and migrants August–October.

At a glance

The spec sheet.

Type
Butterfly
Active
May – October
Native to NJ
Yes
Conservation status
declining
Family
Nymphalidae
Plants it uses

What it needs.

Plants this species visits, feeds on, or depends on. Names in hydrangea link to the plant’s Field Guide entry.

Conservation

Population down ~80% from 1996 baseline. Currently listed by IUCN as Vulnerable. The USFWS proposed listing the monarch as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2024.

Sources

Xerces Society · US Fish & Wildlife Service · Monarch Joint Venture

More butterflys

Others in this group.