monarch butterfly

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English

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monarch butterfly

Etymology

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Believed to have been named in honor of King William III of England, as the butterfly’s main color is that of the king’s secondary title, Prince of Orange.[1]

Noun

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monarch butterfly (plural monarch butterflies)

  1. A butterfly of the species Danaus plexippus, native to North and Central America.
    • 2015 November 24, Patrick Barkham, “Pesticide may be reason butterfly numbers are falling in UK, says study”, in The Guardian[1]:
      A US study published earlier this year found that dust emitted when seeds treated with neonicotinoids are planted causes sub-lethal effects in caterpillars of the monarch butterfly.

Hypernyms

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Translations

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References

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  1. ^ Douglas W. S. Sutherland (1992) “The Monarch Buterfly — Our National Insect”, in Jean Ruth Adams, editor, Insect Potpourri: Adventures in Entomology, Gainesville, Fla.: The Sandhill Crane Press, Inc., →ISBN, pages 28–29