The American butterfly king

Here I have captured the images of two male monarch butterflies visiting the bloom of a milkweed plant. The word monarch means king. It is believed that this butterfly was named long ago in honor of King William III of England. The monarch butterfly is a migrating butterfly and is sometimes seen in England.

This butterfly, which is thought of as a North American butterfly, normally spends warm months in the continental U.S. and winters in Mexico or places farther south. But prevailing winds and storms will sometimes send this beautiful insect to far away places across much of the world such as Spain, Hawaii, the Canary Islands and even New Zealand.

Male monarchs have a black dot at the center of each hind wing. Females are devoid of this dot. Monarch caterpillars need to eat the green leaves of the milkweed plant to survive. By eating the chemicals found inside the milkweed, the caterpillars become poisonous to animals that might eat them.

Through the Woods is a weekly nature column by Aaron Horrell. Find this column at semissourian.com to order a reprint of the photo. Find more of Horrell's work at the Painted Wren Gallery in downtown Cape Girardeau.