Who Ate These Butterflies? Each Predator Leaves its Clues Which predator ate each butterfly below? By looking closing at a dead butterfly you can see clues. This is because each predator has its own method of eating monarchs. Inspect these butterflies carefully and see if you can figure out who the predators were: Predator Clue Black-headed Grosbeak The monarch's abdomen is entirely missing. Black-backed Oriole The monarch's abdomen is present, but it appears to be "unzipped" (slit open) and the thorax is gorged. Black-eared Mouse Caches of butterflies are found on the ground, and only the wings remain. Click on each photo for a closer look: #1 #2 #3 Then compare your observations to ours. >> Search Journey North Copyright 1997-2012 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Questions or comments? Contact us.