What is "milkweed butterfly"

monarch butterfly \mon"arch but"ter*fly\, n. (Zo["o]l.) A very large red and black butterfly ( Danais Plexippus) having striking orange-brown wings with black veins in a reticulated pattern; -- called also milkweed butterfly and monarch. Its larvae feed on the leaves of the milkweed.

Monarch \Mon"arch\, n. [F. monarque, L. monarcha, fr. Gr. ?, ?; mo`nos alone + ? to be first, rule, govern. See Archi-.]

1. A sole or supreme ruler; a sovereign; the highest ruler; an emperor, king, queen, prince, or chief.

   He who reigns Monarch in heaven, . . . upheld by old repute.
   --Milton.

2. One superior to all others of the same kind; as, an oak is called the monarch of the forest.

3. A patron deity or presiding genius.

   Come, thou, monarch of the vine, Plumpy Bacchus.
   --Shak.

4. (Zo["o]l.) A very large red and black butterfly ( Danais Plexippus); -- called also milkweed butterfly and monarch butterfly.

n. large migratory American butterfly having deep orange wings with black and white markings; the larvae feed on milkweed [syn: monarch, monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus]

Milkweed butterflies are a subfamily, Danainae, in the family Nymphalidae, or brush-footed butterflies. They lay their eggs on various milkweeds on which their larvae ( caterpillars) feed. Historically, this group had been considered a separate family, Danaidae.

Some 300 species of Danainae exist worldwide. Most of the Danaini are found in tropical Asia and Africa, while the Ithomiini are diverse in the Neotropics. Tellervini are restricted to Australia and the Oriental region. Four species are found in North America: the Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), the Queen (Danaus gilippus), the tropical milkweed butterfly ( Lycorea cleobaea), and the soldier butterfly (or "tropic queen", Danaus eresimus). Of these, the monarch is by far the most famous, being one of the most recognizable butterflies in the Americas.