Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus), roosting on tree branches. This butterfly is native to the Americas, Australia and New Zealand. It has spread

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Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus), roosting on tree branches. This butterfly is native to the Americas, Australia and New Zealand. It has spread from this range and is also found in the Canary Islands and western Europe. Its striking black, white and orange colouration serves to warn predators (mainly birds) that it is poisonous. It gains its poison from milkweed, a plant that is the sole food source for its caterpillars. Photographed at the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, Sierra Chincua, Michoacan, Mexico.

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Size: 3624px × 2407px
Photo credit: © LOUISE MURRAY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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