butterfly

This Monarch butterfly Danaus plexippus was flitting around from flower to flower near the pond. It settled for a moment on a Purple Coneflower Echinacea purpurea.  But Monarchs prefer their host plant, milkweed, so it did not linger here.  The Monarchs' distinctive colors and pattern warn predators (mostly birds) that they’re foul-tasting and poisonous because of their diet. The milkweed they eat is toxic, but monarchs have evolved not only to tolerate it, but to use it to their advantage by storing the toxins in their bodies and making themselves bad for creatures who would eat butterflies.