The common Monarch Butterfly is depicted on Milkweed,
the food plant of the caterpillar. Toxins in the plant’s milky sap
are absorbed and make the insect unpalatable to predators. Monarchs
can often be seen in local streets during the seasonal migrations
to and from their Mexican winter home. These are not round trips,
since the migrant butterflies lay eggs en route, then die, and it
is the next generation that continues the journey. During the winter
of 2001–2002, unusually severe storms killed millions of Monarchs
wintering in several Mexican sanctuaries.
The British artist John Abbot (1751–1840) spent many
years studying and painting the insects, plants, and birds of the
American South. The 104 illustrations for this early natural history
are accompanied by descriptions in French and English by Smith,
the founder and first president of London’s Linnaean Society.
Check out the sighting
log to record your interaction with some of the native New
York City wildlife, such as the Monarch Butterfly, featured in Urban
Neighbors. You may also browse the sighting log by animal, borough,
park or natural area, and/or habitat to view a sighting you have
submitted or to read others’ observations.
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