Monarch Butterfly

The Monarch is a large orange butterfly with black stripes. It has black wing edges with white dots.

Monarchs prefer open fields and gardens with milkweed. The Monarch caterpillers eat only milkweed, but the butterflies sip nectar from a wide variety of nectar-producing flowers.

These migrating butterflies usually arrive in the Hocking Hills in late spring or early summer. They remain in the area through early fall when they migrate to Mexico for the winter.