Do the butterflies die after they lay their eggs?
A. No, they don’t. Adult monarchs live for anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks, and females lay eggs and males mate throughout most of this period. (Assuming that they aren’t in the generation that migrates.) They die when they get “old,” just like people do. In many cases, females still have eggs in their bodies when they die, so they don’t always get a chance to lay all of their eggs. Q. How do they know which plant is a milkweed? A. They use a combination of visual and chemical cues to find milkweed. Once they land on a plant, they use sensory organs on their feet and heads to tell them if it is a milkweed, and probably the quality of the milkweed. Q. Can a female monarch have babies without the help of the male? A. No, a male and female monarch must mate before the female can lay fertile eggs. Q. If the female mates and is ready to lay her eggs and can’t locate milkweed plants, what does she do? Does she lay them on any plant she finds? If that is so, what becomes of the caterpillars? A. Fe
