Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of Monarch butterfly wing with scales and scent gland (Danaus plexippus). Male monarch butterfly wings have narrowe
Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of Monarch butterfly wing with scales and scent gland (Danaus plexippus). Male monarch butterfly wings have narrower wing veins plus a spot of dense scales on each hind wing. The spot is a scent gland. Males use the pheromones produced by this gland to make themselves attractive to females. In two to five weeks of egg-laying a female will lay about 700 eggs. Generally, eggs hatch in 4 days, but cool temperatures delay hatching up to 12 days. Newly hatched caterpillars feed on milkweed, their sole source of food. Milkweed contains a poison that is harmless to monarchs, but which sickens predators. A caterpillar eventually attaches itself to a twig, sheds and forms a chrysalis from which an adult monarch butterfly emerges. An adult lives six weeks in summer but those that migrate can live six to nine months over winter. Magnification: x7 when shortest axis printed at 25 millimetres.
Size: 2646px × 3302px
Photo credit: © DENNIS KUNKEL MICROSCOPY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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