God’s “Little” Creatures – African Monarch

This butterfly can be found throughout South Africa and also fairly common on the Bluff.

Its main food plant in the Milk Weed bush, making the butterfly and its larva rather distasteful and even harmful to some predators like birds. This is how come you will find quite a few other butterflies (which are totally harmless) making use of this knowledge and mimic the colours of the African Monarch, such as the female Common Diadem, and a host of others.

I have also included a life cycle diagram that I put together from some caterpillars that I bred through.

God Bless

Warren K Dick