Monarch Movements

 Monarch Butterfly, Danaus plexippus

The Monarch is generally a North American iconic insect. It has been introduced into Australia. It has several popular common names. It is a Mullerian mimic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%BCllerian_mimicry. Monarchs are known for their spectacular mass migrations of thousands of kilometres from the US to Mexico. They show some degree of migration in the temperate parts of their range in Australia. Monarchs are not common in the Australian tropics.  Caterpillars develop on Milkweed-Asclepias, Gomphocarpus, Calotropis, Stapelia and rarely Aruaujia hortorum.

Recently, observations of Monarchs in the Cairns region have been noted by the public. On a recent trip to Fitzroy Island, just off Cairns, Queensland, numbers were seen flying over over the Coral Sea. 

During a light shower, one male landed on a Scaevola shrub in the strand vegetation.

Monarch resting on coastal shrub