MONARCH BUTTERFLY

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 159, 1 April 1938, Page 6

MONARCH BUTTERFLY

Specimen Taken At Lower Hutt A beautiful specimen of the Monarch butterfly, comparatively rare in Wellington, was caught at Lower Hutt }6Sterdav. It is a beautiful orangewinged creature, its wings bordered and veined with velvet black, and blotched along the margins with yellow and white It measures more than four iuches from wing-tip to wing-tip and is by far the most magnificent of New Zealand butterflies. Actually, although it has been here as long as has the white man, like him the butterfly Is not indigenous to New Zealand. Its coming is one of the romances of entomology. It is considered certain that these butterflies winged their way here across thousands of miles of stormy ocean. The Monarch butterfly has its habitat in Central America. Early in the last century it attracted attention by its habit of gathering in vast numbers for seasonal migrations and it has since been observed throughout Europe and throughout the Pacific Islands, the Orient and Australia. It was first described in Now Zealand in 1840 and lias since been repeatedly reported. It is to-day fairly common in the Palmerston North district, at Auckland and in other parts of the North Island. In the last 40 years the insect showed a distinct decline in numbers in this country, a decline paralleled throughout the Islands. Recently, however, Mr T. Skeates, Auckland, has made a systematic attempt to establish the butterfly on a firmer footing. The caterpillar is quite harmless to all valuable economic plants and lives mainly on two imported American specie's. For seven years Mr. Skeates has been breeding these butterflies and lie is now making attempts to have them liberated in the Hamilton district. The butterfly is scienifleally known as Danaus Plexippus. It is also called the Wanderer.