第 1390 號，共 1 402 號

Monarch butterfly

Danaus plexippus

名字的由來： The name 'monarch' was suggested in 1874 by entomologist Samuel Hubbard Scudder, who pointed to its large size and the idea that it 'rules a vast domain'.1

無害對人無害。不用擔心。

其他有毒動物

吃了會中毒吃：植物有毒（碰或吃會中毒），不是有毒液

對人的危險: 輕微跟蜜蜂螫差不多或更輕微。對人基本上無害。

The monarch is one of the best-known butterflies in North America, with a black, orange and white pattern that is easy to spot. Its wings are poisonous if eaten, so it is a warning to predators. Some monarchs make a huge southward journey each autumn, covering thousands of miles.1

有毒還是有毒液？有毒液的動物會用咬或螫把毒液注入身體。有毒的動物則是碰到或吃下去會有害。這種動物是有毒的（碰或吃會中毒）。

分布在

Most of North America, with populations further south in the Americas, and in parts of Europe, Oceania and Southeast Asia.1

北美洲, 南美洲

首頁

Monarchs are found across a wide range of places, and their caterpillars depend on milkweed plants. Eggs are laid on milkweed, and caterpillars often wander up to 10 metres from their plant to find a place to pupate.1

長度

8,9 cm 到 10 cm (3,5 in 到 4 in)1

最高速度

大約 9 km/h（5,6 mph）

飛行, 粗略估計

牠吃什麼？

Caterpillars feed on milkweed leaves, cutting the leaf edges as they grow.1

Monarch butterfly 的照片 — Monarch butterfly。照片：Christine Young。 CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist.

怎麼認出牠

Black, orange and white wing pattern that is easy to recognise.1
Wingspan of 8.9 to 10.2 cm.1
Caterpillars are pale green or grey-white when very young, with a large black head.1
Older caterpillars have white, yellow and black bands, plus black tentacles.1

常被誤認為： The viceroy butterfly is similar in colour and pattern but is much smaller. It also has an extra black stripe across each hindwing.1

毒素力量

吃了會中毒

只有被吃下去時才有害。

牠對人有多危險？

對人的危險: 輕微跟蜜蜂螫差不多或更輕微。對人基本上無害。

牠害怕時會做什麼？

Its bright black, orange and white pattern serves as a warning coloration to predators, and the viceroy butterfly copies it.1

如果有人碰了或吃了牠

如果有人吃了牠，或吃了之後出現症狀：立刻打緊急電話或打給毒物諮詢中心。

一定要先打緊急電話（112、000、911）。這是一般急救指引，不是醫療建議。急救基本知識

注意安全

絕對不要碰、抓或捉弄野生動物，就算是很小的動物，就算牠看起來在睡覺或已經死了也一樣。
給牠空間。如果遇到了，保持冷靜，慢慢往後退，讓牠自己離開。
如果你碰了或吃了牠：不要揉眼睛或摸嘴巴，把手洗乾淨，並且就醫。

牠不是想來抓你。牠的毒只是為了不讓別的動物吃掉牠。更多安全知識

在世界上的哪裡？

非洲亞洲歐洲北美洲南美洲澳洲與大洋洲

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

跟 3 塊玩具積木排成一排一樣長可以在 42 秒內飛過一整座足球場

Monarch butterfly 跟「你」比起來有多大？

只是在你的瀏覽器裡做算術。什麼都不會儲存，也不會傳送到任何地方。

牠有多快？

一隻家蠅 大約 7 km/h (4,4 mph)

Monarch butterfly 大約 9 km/h (5,6 mph)

一個正在衝刺的人 大約 37 km/h (23 mph)

值得知道

小知識

Eastern North American monarchs migrate south each autumn to Florida and Mexico, covering thousands of miles, and return north in spring over several generations.1

A female monarch can lay eggs weighing up to her own body mass in total, even though each egg is only about 1/1000 of her mass.1

Fewer than 10% of monarch eggs and caterpillars commonly survive to adulthood, because of weather, predators, parasites and disease.1

Monarchs can develop from egg to adult in as little as 25 days in warm summer weather, but may take as long as seven weeks in cool spring conditions.1

A monarch caterpillar can travel up to 10 metres from its milkweed plant to find a safe place to pupate.1

The monarch was the first butterfly to have its genome sequenced, a draft of 273 million base pairs containing 16,866 protein-coding genes.1

破解迷思

迷思： Monarch butterflies are genetically modified organisms.

真相： A 2015 study found genes from wasp bracoviruses in the North American monarch's genome. This led to articles calling monarchs genetically modified, but they are not genetically modified in the usual sense.1

給毒液專家

學名: Danaus plexippus
類群: 其他有毒動物
家人: Nymphalidae2
排序: Lepidoptera
各大洲: 北美洲, 南美洲
寶寶: Females lay eggs singly, usually on the underside of young milkweed leaves, with 300 to 500 eggs over two to five weeks, and up to 1,180 eggs in total.1
對人的危險: 1 / 5: 輕微3