Outline of the Life Cycle of the Monarch Butterfly
Betty Boatwright
PRES111-1203B-23
7/30/12
American Intercontinental University

The Life Cycle of the Monarch
Specific purpose: To inform the audience about where the Monarch butterfly originated, and how they migrate from north to south.
Central idea: Butterflies are beautiful creatures, but must go through several processing stages in order to become a Monarch butterfly.
Introduction
I. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder in nature.
A. The flight of the Monarch butterfly can take your imagination to places it has never been before.
B. Their beautiful colors can give you the feeling of joy and happiness.
II. A thing of beauty can be kept on your mine for years to come.
III. This is my passion because the Monarch butterflies are peaceful and their colors are hypnotizing.
IV. Today I will be addressing the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly and how it progresses from stage to stage.

(Transition: Let’s start at the beginning of the Monarch butterfly.)

Body
I. Today I will talk about the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly, what the word Monarch means, and where it evolved from.
A. The Monarch butterfly is a large migratory American butterfly with orange and black wings with black veins and borders.
1. The name Monarch comes from Kesh’s buju.
2. Where did the Monarch butterfly come from? The Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a wide spread tropical insect that ranges as far north as Canada (pg.ca.us.).
B. The Monarch butterfly travel between 50-100 miles a day; it can take up to two months to complete their journey (fs.fed.us).
1. The fastest ranging Monarch butterfly recorded travel 265 miles in one day, and some fly as far as 3,000 miles to reach their winter home (fs.fed.us).
2. The Eastern North American Monarch butterfly flies south using several flyways patterns.
3. As temperatures rise and days get longer the Monarch butterfly finishes the process the stop before their migration. After becoming reproductive they journey back to North America (fs.fed.us).
(Transition: Now that you know what the Monarch butterfly is and where it originated from, we can now look at the reproductive cycle.)
II. The Monarch butterfly starts the reproductive life cycle.
A. According to (the butterfly site), there are four stages involved in the reproduction stage (n.d.).
1. The first stage a very small, round, oval, or cylindrical, is laid on a plant called the milkweed, this is the only kind of plant the Monarch butterfly eats.
2. Second stage is called the larva.
a. During this time all the caterpillar does is eat.
b. It needs to eat so it can grow quickly. Their exoskeleton (skin) does not stretch, so they grow by molting.
3. The third stage is the pupa (chrysalis) this is the time when metamorphous take place before the final stage.
4. Finally during the fourth stage, the butterfly emerges from the chrysalis and pumps blood into the wings to get them flapping ready to fly. The Monarch butterfly is poisonous because of the plants it eats.
(Transition: If you are wondering what makes the Monarch butterfly so amazing, it is the generation.)
III. See there are four generations of Monarch that take this journey to the south for the winter and north for the spring (2012).
A. If they are the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd generation headed south, then they have the time and destiny to populate more Monarchs into existence (2012).
B. If they are the 4th generation, it is in their nature to travel to Mexico for the winter (2012).
1. They live 4-6 months, lay their eggs and then die.
2. The fourth generation endures the last journey to its destination north to Canada for summer, and south Mexico for the winter.
Conclusion
I. With all the research that has taken place on the Monarch butterfly, one can truly say it was.
II. I can say that the Monarch butterfly is in a class all by themselves.
III. The butterflies offer more beauty than anything.
IV. If more milkweed plants are grown in your backyard, you yourself can attract the Monarch butterfly and have a yard bursting beauty of to share with neighbors, friends, and family (we can keep them off the endangered list.)

References
Butterfly Life Cycle Article. (n. d.). Retrieved from http://www.thebutterflysite.com/life-cycle.shtml Monarch Butterfly. (Feb 1, 2012). A Generational Expedition. Retrieved from http://gemmarie.hudpage.com/hub/VictoriasGlimp.
Monarch Butterfly Habitat Needs. (n .d.). Retrieved from http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/monarchbutterfly/.../index.sht
Monarch Grove Sanctuary. (n. d.). Retrieved from http://www.ci.pg.ca.us/monarchs/default.htm