MORE ABOUT MONARCHS

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 66, 19 March 1938, Page 3 (Supplement)

MORE ABOUT MONARCHS

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may be distinguished from the female by this mark, which is seen near the second veinure of the hind wings. Towards autumn this butterfly flies south from its summer .home in the northern Un;ted States and Canada, and about Christmas time is found literally in hundreds resting on shrubs in California. Mr. Hemingway tells me that he has seen 1000 and more resting in Monterey, 90 miles south of San Francisco. The Monarch is a strong insect and a powerful flyer. It has been seen 400

miles from land gaily sailing along in the wind. In this way it has spread now almost all over the world, and Mr. Hemingway has taken it in countries as far apart as Canada, Japan, Fiji, the Malay States, New Zealand and the Solomon Islands. An extraordinary fact is that it seems but in the last 80 years it has taken to flying far over the seas. The Monarch was quite unknown, says Mr. Hemingway, when he was a boy entomologising in England. Ninety years ago it first appeared in Fiji and but 00 years in Australia.

Both the caterpillar and butterfly are of unpleasant taste, and exude an unpleasant aroma. In the males this is used to attract the females. At the same time it affords protection to the insect, which is not touched by birds with the exception of the cuckoo. An interesting fact in evolution is claimed to be the way in which, in ; .he course of ages, another butterfly—Basilarchia archippus, a native of Xorth America — has developed so as to be almost indistinguishable from the Monarch. B. archippus is sweet tasting, and by having "copied" the appearance of the unpleasant tasting Monarch, has succeeded in deceiving birds and other enemies. | The native food of the Monarch is a kind of milk-weed that grows in America. It has, however, acclimatised itself to other food plants in the countries to which it has migrated. Thus, in Australia the caterpillar lives on the introduced cotton plants, and in New Zealand it is to he found on the common swan plant. In other countries the caterpillars are frequently parasitised by flies; so far, however, flies have not attacked the insects in New Zealand. Both caterpillar and butterfly are harmless to man, and this handsome butterfly should be welcome in New Zealand where we have so few colourful insects. The eggs are small, conical, delicately ribbed and pale yellowish in colour, and long in comparison with their width. The caterpillar is particularly handsome, being smooth, of yellowish colour with black and white bands and two pairs

of black, whip-like appendages which it lashes about while feeding. Its appearance is such as to strike terror into any enemies it may have. In a recent article I described the jewel-like chrysalis, which is jade green with tiny gold spots. After about 10 days the chrysalis darkens and gradually the perfect insect emerges, a glorious creature with orange-brown wings veined with black and bordered with a band of black bearing dazzling white spots. A Devonport resident brought in leaves of the swan plant with eggs attached. These tiny conical objects were fastened to the underside of the leaf in every case. I placed one of these under a microscope for observation and was delighted to see one hatch out. Shortly afterwards it began feeding, and in less than six hours had doubled its size. They seem to work the foliage, systematically feeding until a entirely consumed before moving to another. ° Recently I watched the actual process of a Monarch caterpillar changing into a chrysalis. The caterpillar first suspended itself on a twig and then commenced turning itself" round a great number of times in a clockwise mjTnncr I until it had spun a stalk-like attachment ! of threads. It then telescoped the rinjrs of its body until they formed the conical top of the chrysalis, after which the chrysalis filled out, hardened and assumed its completed form. An American writer, Kellogg, refers to I ♦he gathering each wintt r of thousands |

of Monarch? in a small pine forest in the Bay of Monterey, California. The butterflies arrive in October, usually about the second week, and remain until March, regularly each year. It would seem probable that now the Monarch has secured a proper footing in New Zealand it will become quite common, and this without becoming the pest that the accidentally introduced notorious White butterfly has become. As the Monarch is limited by it= f<>«>d plant, it i- not likely that the spread of this butterfly will pro\e an anno\an<e to anyone. Kven fond admirers of the swan plant wiil no doubt excuse any slight damage these ornamental shrubs may suffer from a creature of such surpassing beauty.