Monarch Butterfly

Hello! My name is Monarch, and I am a beautiful butterfly. But my story didn’t start with wings. It began when I was just a tiny, bumpy egg, even smaller than the head of a pin. My mother carefully placed me on the soft leaf of a milkweed plant. When I was ready, I hatched and became a very, very hungry caterpillar. Guess what my first meal was? My own eggshell! After that, I started munching on the tasty milkweed leaf that was my very first home.

As a caterpillar, my job was to eat and grow. I had bright yellow, black, and white stripes all over my body. These weren't just for decoration; they were a warning sign for predators, like birds. "Stay away!" my stripes said. "I don't taste good!". That's because I ate so much milkweed. The milkweed plant has special chemicals inside it that I store in my body. They make me taste yucky to anyone who might try to eat me. I grew so quickly that my skin became too tight. I had to shed my skin five different times to make room for my growing body.

After I was done growing, it was time for my most amazing change. I crawled to a safe spot and hung upside down from a branch, making my body into the shape of the letter 'J'. Then, for the very last time, I shed my skin. But this time was different. Underneath wasn't a bigger caterpillar—it was my chrysalis! My chrysalis was a beautiful, shiny green case with little gold dots. It was my own special changing room. Inside, a wonderful secret transformation was happening, turning my caterpillar body into a butterfly.

After some time, I was ready to come out. I pushed my way out of the chrysalis, and for the first time, I saw my wings. They were bright orange with bold black lines and white spots. I was finally a butterfly! Soon after, I began the most incredible journey. Every fall, my generation of Monarch butterflies flies thousands of miles south to a special place in Mexico to stay warm for the winter. For a very long time, people wondered where we all went. It was a big mystery until the year 1975, when scientists finally discovered our secret winter home.

When we arrive in Mexico, we fly to the oyamel fir forests. There are millions of us! We all gather together on the tree branches, covering them like a giant, shimmering orange blanket. We rest here all winter long, waiting for spring. When the weather warms up, we begin our journey north again. But we don't make it all the way. It is our children, and even our grandchildren, who finish the trip. Monarch butterflies have an important job as pollinators, helping flowers grow. You can help us by planting milkweed. It gives the next generation of Monarchs a safe place to start their own amazing journey.