So how does a Monarch lay its eggs on the underside of a leaf?

I'm sure you are like me, laying awake at night wondering how it happens? Right?? NOT!!

I never gave it a second thought. Just assumed that they got on the underside of the leaf upside down, did their thing and took off. Never wondered whether it took two Monarchs to be at the same leaf at the same time, a "Special Date". Not one moment of my time was spent pondering this life altering event - at least to the Monarchs it is.

So as I was harvesting cherry tomatoes yesterday, was I surprised to have a Monarch land on a leaf right by my head and proceed to deposit its egg on a Milkweed leaf. It was one of the most astonishing things I have ever witnessed. And then it did it on another plant and another. Floating from plant to plant, picking out just the right leaf and depositing eggs for Mia to discover, again and again.

SO, now I really have your interest, just how do they do it??

She landed on the edge of the leaf, and bent up her lower body, or abdomen, forming it into a J shape going under the side of the leaf, and deposited the egg underneath. Who knew a butterfly could be ambidextrous???
So the mom finds the housing, secures the offspring, then leaves them to fend for themselves. What a life?
So, I thought to myself, where is the male in all this, and just how do they mate. So I did a trusty google search, to "How does a butterfly mate", and I found a great site with the following questions and answers for children - They are very informative, so I have copied them here. The specifics of the website follow the questions.

http://bsi.montana.edu/web/kidsbutterfly/faq/behavior#behavior1

Answers to Behavior Questions

1. How do butterflies go to the bathroom?

Adult butterflies do not go to the bathroom. Caterpillars do all of the eating and almost continually defecate. Occasionally adult butterflies drink so much they must emit a fine liquid spray from the tip of their abdomen but it is almost pure water.

2. Do butterflies eat bugs?

As I mentioned the caterpillars do most of the eating. Almost all caterpillars eat plant parts, but a few are carnivorous. Caterpillars of the carnivorous Harvester butterfly of the eastern U.S. eat wooly aphids. The adult female butterfly lays her eggs in the middle of aphid masses.

3. What do butterflies and moths eat?

With few exceptions, adult butterflies and moths eat only various liquids to maintain their water balance and energy stores. Most adults sip flower nectar, but other imbibe fluids from sap flowers on trees, rotting fruits, bird droppings, or animal dung. Many adult butterflies are found drinking fluids at wet sand or mud, especially along stream courses or the edges of dirt roads or trails. Some exceptions are the adults of longwing butterflies such as the Zebra are able to collect pollen from certain flowers with their proboscis and to break it down and absorb amino acids (proteins) which contribute to the ability to survive, mate and lay eggs for long periods (6 months or so). With their short proboscis (tongue) the adults of Harvester butterflies can actually pierce the bodies of woolly aphids and drink their fluids--this would be the only bugs that adult butterflies eat. The caterpillar of almost all butterflies and moths eat various parts of plants. Each species may specialize of only a few kinds of plants or plant parts. The caterpillars of the Harvester butterfly and its relatives are exceptions in that they feed solely on aphids.

4. How do butterflies mate?

Male butterflies find females by sight, and use chemicals called pheromones at close range. If the female accepts the male, they couple end to end and may go on a short courtship flight. They may remain coupled for an hour or more, sometimes overnight. The male passes a sperm packet called a spermatorphore to the female. The sperm then fertilize each egg as it passes down the female's egg-laying tube.

5. How do butterflies communicate? Is it like honeybees?

Butterflies do not communicate like honeybees but they use some of the same kinds of communication. Butterflies can communicate with each other [same or different species] by color, chemicals, sound, and physical actions. Color patterns are used to signal their sex or species to each other. Chemical pheromones are used by both sexes of some butterflies to attract the opposite sex or to signal species identity in courtship. A few butterflies make clicking sounds [males of genus Hamadryas] to protect their space. Some chrysalides [gossamer wings family] make clicking sounds to attract ants that in turn protect them. Physical actions such as aggressive flight or postures are used in courtship or to protect resources such as an important flower. Caterpillars of some species produce sugary substances for ants which in turn protect the caterpillars.

Whole books have been written on this topics. This is the briefest, simplest answer I can give.

6. How do butterflies fly?

Butterflies have strong muscles in their thorax which force their wings up and down on a fulcrum basis. They actually go in a slanted figure 8 motion that propels them forward through the air in the same principle as an airplane.

7. How high do butterflies fly? How fast do butterflies fly?

I don't think they have been clocked but certainly some fast-flying skippers can fly 30 mile per hour or faster. Slow flying butterflies probably fly 5 mph or a little more.

During fall migration migrating Monarchs have been seen flying by tall buildings such as the Empire State Building at 1,000+ ft. Butterflies are picked up by storm fronts and moved 100's of miles, probably at altitudes of several thousand feet.

8. Do caterpillars drink water?

Caterpillars do not drink water. They normally obtain sufficient fluids from food plants. Sometimes for over wintering caterpillars, such as tiger moth caterpillars, it is good to add a few drops of moisture to keep them from drying out too much.

9. Do butterflies sleep or take brief naps? What is sleep to a butterfly?

When butterflies cannot keep their temperatures at activity levels, when its cloudy, or at night they become quiescent. This quiescence, or resting, is not equivalent to human sleep. Butterflies always have their eyes open, since they do not have eyelids and they probably do not dream. Certainly, I don't know of anyone who has heard of a snoring butterfly! It's probably best just to consider that they become inactive.

10. Where do butterflies go when it rains?

Butterflies hide when it rains. They usually go to the same places they do for the night. Some butterflies hide under large leaves, some crawl down into dense leaves or under rocks, and some just sit head down on grass stems or bushes with wings held tightly. If the rains are exceptionally hard or of long duration many of the butterflies become tattered or die.

11. Do caterpillars hide somewhere at night or are they eaten by birds?

The full-grown caterpillars usually wander off the plant some distance to find a place to make their chrysalis. During the feeding and growth stage they just remain under leaves.

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