monarch butterfly

monarch butterfly

n. A large butterfly (Danaus plexippus) chiefly of North America, having light orange-brown wings with black veins and white-spotted black borders and noted for its long-distance migrations and its brightly colored caterpillars, which feed on milkweed plants.

mon′arch but`terfly

n. a large, deep orange butterfly, Danaus plexippus, having black and white markings and larvae that feed on the leaves of milkweed. Also called monarch. [1885–90]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

monarch butterfly - large migratory American butterfly having deep orange wings with black and white markings; the larvae feed on milkweedDanaus plexippus, milkweed butterfly, monarchdanaid, danaid butterfly - large tropical butterfly with degenerate forelegs and an unpleasant tasteDanaus, genus Danaus - type genus of the Danaidae: monarch butterflies