Monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus, caterpillar on a milkweed, Asclepias sp., leaf
RMID:Image ID:AN6CH8
Image details
Contributor:
Martin Shields / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
AN6CH8File size:
53.1 MB (1.2 MB Compressed download)Releases:
Model - no | Property - noDo I need a release?Dimensions:
3525 x 5266 px | 29.8 x 44.6 cm | 11.8 x 17.6 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
1 June 2018More information:
Monarch butterflies lay their eggs primarily on milkweed plants, genus Asclepias. By eating the milkweed the caterpillars sequester biologically active cardiac glycosides or cardenolides, which make them poisonous to vertebrates. The cardiac toxins continue in the pupa and then the adult butterfly. Both the adult and the larva are aposematically colored to warn predators from eating them.