#2970 · 🦋 butterflies & moths
Monarch
🇳🇱 Monarchvlinder ·Danaus plexippus
10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
- 1. © Alejandro Lopez · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
- 2. © Ad Konings · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 3. © Christine Young · CC BY 4.0
- 4. © Erika Mitchell · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 5. © Erika Mitchell · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 6. © Terence Gui · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 7. © Virginia Rivers · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 8. © Thomas Shahan · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 9. © sabineart · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- 10. © Kris Hazelbaker · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
what is it?
The monarch butterfly or simply monarch ( Danaus plexippus ) is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. Other common names depending on region include milkweed , common tiger , wanderer , and black veined brown . It may be the most familiar North American butterfly, and is considered an iconic pollinator species. 2 cm (3 1⁄2–4 in) The viceroy butterfly is similar in color and...
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
- 563,003 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Scientifically named in 1758 (268 years ago).
fact sheet
- English
- Monarch
- Nederlands
- Monarchvlinder
- scientific name
- Danaus plexippus
- class
- Insecta
- order
- Lepidoptera
- family
- Nymphalidae
- IUCN Red List
- LC · least concern
- sightings in NL
- 0
- sightings in Europe
- 1,318
- sightings worldwide
- 563,003
- GBIF records in NL
- 62
- weight
- —
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1758
IUCN in Dutch: niet bedreigd. Blank means the sources don't say.
relatives· Nymphalidae
#2385 📷 8Red Admiral
🇳🇱 Atalanta
Vanessa atalanta
LC 👀 4.7k in NL
#2386 📷 9Speckled Wood
🇳🇱 Bont zandoogje
Pararge aegeria
👀 4.3k in NL
#2387 📷 10European Peacock Butterfly
🇳🇱 Dagpauwoog
Aglais io
👀 3.8k in NL
#2392 📷 10European Comma
🇳🇱 Gehakkelde Aurelia
Polygonia c-album
👀 2k in NL
#2395 📷 10Meadow Brown
🇳🇱 Bruin zandoogje
Maniola jurtina
👀 1.7k in NL
#2397 📷 9Painted Lady
🇳🇱 Distelvlinder
Vanessa cardui
LC 👀 1.6k in NL
#2399 📷 9Map
🇳🇱 Landkaartje
Araschnia levana
👀 1.4k in NL
#2402 📷 9Small Tortoiseshell
🇳🇱 Kleine vos
Aglais urticae
👀 1.2k in NL
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 48662, Wikidata Q212398, GBIF 5133088, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.