Monarch Butterfly Scientific Terminology

Rise up, Citizen Scientists! Prove how crazy for monarch butterflies you are by committing to memory some of the scientific terminology relating to the monarch butterfly. Be the nerd that all your friends pick first to be on their team when you play Trivial Pursuit, Monarch Genius version!

• Danaus plexippus - the scientific Latin name for the monarch butterfly
• larva - that's the Trivial Pursuit name for a caterpillar 
• pupa - what the caterpillar transforms into and is between being a caterpillar and a butterfly
• chrysalis - the blue-green jewel-like case that contains the pupa (this is called a cocoon in the case of moths)
• instar - a stage in the life cycle of the monarch caterpillar on its way to becoming a butterfly. A monarch caterpillar goes through 5 instars. The end of each instar is marked by the caterpillar shedding its skin (molting) 
• eclosion - refers to both the hatching of the larva from its egg and the butterfly from its chrysalis
• androconium - the black spot in the center of each hind wing of the male monarch butterfly

That's enough for now. My head hurts!



The two spots on the hind wings near the tip of
the abdomen are known as the androconium
and indicate this is a male
© John Corney

A recently "eclosed" monarch butterfly
(c) John Corney

A monarch butterfly chrysalis
(c) John Corney

Pupating monarch caterpillar and chrysalis
(c) John Corney