The monarch is a large butterfly. Its body is about 30 mm long. Its wings can spread open to be about 100 mm wide. The body of the monarch is black with white spots. Its wings are orange with black lines and some white spots. The adult butterfly eats flower nectar. They sip this sugary liquid from flowers with a long, hollow tongue, like a straw.

Monarchs can be found wherever there are milkweed plants and open meadows. In Manitoba they live in grassy areas and do not go in thick forests. They are only in Manitoba from June to August. The butterflies migrate each year to Mexico and then their young return to Manitoba the next year.

Monarch butterflies and their caterpillars taste bad. This is because they eat milkweed plants. Chemicals in the milkweed plant stay in the bodies of the caterpillar and the adult butterfly. These chemicals taste bad and can make animals sick. If a bird swallows a monarch or its caterpillar it will become sick and vomit . It won't try to eat any more monarchs. The bright colours of monarchs and their caterpillars warn animals that they taste bad. The caterpillar also protects itself by rolling into a ball and falling to the ground. It will stay rolled up until danger has passed. Enemies of the monarch caterpillar are some flies and wasps that lay their eggs inside the caterpillars. The larvae of the flies and wasps eat the caterpillars from the inside.

A female monarch lays eggs on the underside of milkweed leaves. She lays only 1 egg on each leaf, but she will lay about 100 eggs. Both the female and the male butterfly will die soon after mating and all the eggs are laid. The eggs hatch after 7-10 days. The caterpillar has black, white, and yellow stripes. The caterpillar eats the milkweed leaves. It eats and eats and grows quickly. After 2-3 weeks the caterpillar finds a safe place to make its pupa. It makes a soft silk pad and then attaches its hind feet to the pad. It hangs upside down and then forms a pupa. After 2 weeks the adult butterfly emerges. Monarch butterflies that emerge in Manitoba will fly south all the way to Mexico to spend the winter.