Question: There are two important ways that eating milkweed in the summer (before fall migration) helps a monarch survive the winter in Mexico. What are they? Explain how milkweed and winter survival are related.
Answer: 1) Milkweed provides energy. When a monarch caterpillar eats milkweed, some is stored as fat. A monarch caterpillar that eats plenty of milkweed becomes a big, healthy adult butterfly with a good reserve of fat. Monarch butterflies need fat to survive the winter in Mexico, and some can come from milkweed.
2) Milkweed makes monarchs poisonous. When a monarch caterpillar eats milkweed, some is stored as fat. A monarch caterpillar that eats plenty of milkweed becomes a big, healthy adult butterfly with a good reserve of fat. Monarch butterflies need that fat to survive the winter in Mexico.
