Monarch Butterfly: Mysterious Migrator

We have discovered many amazing mysteries about monarch butterflies. Consider the following: 1. All butterflies and moths have microscopic scales on their wings. Monarchs have about 1 million scales on their four wings. 2. Monarchs’ entire body, other than their eyes, are covered with 30 different kinds of scales. 3. Each monarch butterfly has two compound eyes, each having about 6,000 simple eyes, enabling them to see in all directions. 4. They can see all the colors we can see plus ultraviolet light. 5. The male emits a chemical (pheromone) into the air that attracts females. A female can detect it as far as two miles away! 6. The female lays her eggs on a milkweed plant. She evaluates the plant by tasting it with her legs. Her taste sensors are 2,000 times as sensitive to the taste of sugar as human taste buds. 7. The female lays between 400 to 800 eggs.   8. Monarchs start off life as an egg. From the egg emerges a caterpillar. Then after a lot of growth the caterpillar produces a