Monarch butterfly: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the monarch butterfly lives – recorded in 9 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Danaus plexippus
Group	Butterflies & moths
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	9 countries
Continents	Europe, North America, Oceania, South America
Class	Insect
Order	Lepidoptera
Family	Nymphalidae

Where does the monarch butterfly live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the monarch butterfly in 9 countries and territories across Europe, North America, Oceania and South America. Wikidata gives its range as: New Zealand. In Australia, Spain, Portugal it is listed as introduced (GRIIS checklists via GBIF).

United States
Canada
Australia (introduced)
Portugal (introduced)
New Zealand
Mexico
Spain (introduced)
Colombia
Peru

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the monarch butterfly endangered?

The monarch butterfly’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the monarch butterfly?

The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is an insect in the order Lepidoptera and the family Nymphalidae, genus Danaus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the monarch butterfly

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 is among the most familiar of North American butterflies and an iconic pollinator, although it is not an especially effective pollinator of milkweeds. Its wings feature an easily recognizable black, orange, and white pattern, with a wingspan of 8.9–10.2 cm (3.5–4.0 in). A Müllerian mimic, the viceroy butterfly, is similar in color and pattern, but is markedly smaller and has an extra black stripe across each hindwing.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Monarch butterfly (revision 1380059724), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q212398 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).