Endangered migratory monarch butterfly returns to Malaga after long absence

An endangered butterfly has returned to the La Concepción botanical gardens in Malaga after several years of absence. The migratory monarch butterfly is currently listed as endangered, since in the last 20 years its presence in North America has decreased by more than 80%, so programmes are being carried out to protect their habitats in American and Latin countries where they are native.

The botanical gardens in Malaga increased its planting of specimens of Asclepias curassavica, known as milkweed or blood flower, next to the lotus pond, which is believed to have lured the butterflies

Malaga City Council pointed out that this species is the only plant on which the caterpillar feeds. In its butterfly stage, it feeds on the nectar of many species, and when it finds the right plant, it lays its eggs on the underside of the leaves. The larvae do not stop eating, as it increases its body mass by about 2,000 times in just a few weeks.

In fact, the milkweed provides the larvae with toxic compounds that protect it and the future butterfly from predators.

The monarch is a large butterfly, about ten centimetres long, with orange wings furrowed by black veins with white spots on the edges, making it a very easily recognisable species.

This species of butterflies make a migration of thousands of kilometres. Most of them spend the summer reproducing in the United States and southern Canada and then they travel south to spend the winter in Mexico or on the coasts of California.