“Summer’s Monarch Brilliance”

By

Daniel F. Heuer

 

Each summer I see a bunch of Monarch butterflies flying around, landing on flowers and just doing what they do.  Such a beautiful little flying critter, who doesn’t marvel at their beauty.  Also seeing them, with all their beautiful colors during the summer, is like one of those special things we all remember about the summer time.  I wanted to try and paint one, and used some artistic imagination in doing so, yet my end results everyone has usually seen at one time or another.  This is my acrylic rendition of a feeding Monarch, I hope those of you who elect to own a copy of this painting, enjoy it as much as I did in creating it.

The large and brilliantly-colored monarch butterfly is among the most easily recognizable of the butterfly species that call North America home. They have two sets of wings and a wingspan of three to four inches (7 to 10 centimeters). Their wings are a deep orange with black borders and veins, and white spots along the edges. The underside of the wings is pale orange. Male monarchs have two black spots in the center of their hind wings, which females lack. These spots are scent glands that help males attract female mates. Females have thicker wing veins than males. The butterfly’s body is black with white markings.

Monarch butterflies communicate with scents and colors. The males attract females to mate by releasing chemicals from scent glands on the hind wings. Monarchs signal to other animals that they are poisonous by having bright orange wings. The bright colors serve as a warning that predators should attack at their own risk.

Most adult monarchs only live for a few weeks, sadly stated, searching for food in the form of flower nectar, for mates, and for milkweed on which to lay their eggs. The last generation that hatches in late summer delays sexual maturity and undertakes a spectacular fall migration, one of the few insects to do so. This migratory generation can live upward of eight months.