Monarch butterfly
Danaus plexippus
- Size
- Wingspan 9 to 10cm
- Look for it
- April to October
- Where
- Fields, roadsides and gardens across North America, wherever milkweed grows
A large orange butterfly with black veins and a black border dotted with white.
The monarch that follows you
This page is a backyard in the eastern United States, with woods at the end of it. Move your pointer and your bug will flutter, flash or whirr after you. Choose a different bug at the bottom, and tap the notes to open them.
Virginia right now checking the sky…
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01 · TripA journey of thousands of miles
Each autumn, monarchs from as far north as Canada fly up to three thousand miles to a few mountain forests in Mexico.
02 · MapThey have never been there
The butterflies that fly south are the great-grandchildren of those that left Mexico in spring. Nobody knows quite how they find the way.
03 · TreesTrees covered in butterflies
In Mexico they cluster on fir trees in such numbers that branches bend under their weight.
04 · PoisonPoisonous on purpose
The caterpillars eat milkweed and keep its poison. The bright orange is a warning to birds.
05 · LongOne generation lives longer
Summer monarchs live a few weeks. The generation that migrates lives eight or nine months.
06 · TagsTagged by volunteers
People put tiny numbered stickers on monarchs' wings so that their journeys can be traced.
Meet them all
Who's who in the backyard
Common eastern firefly
Photinus pyralis
- Size
- 1 to 1.5cm long
- Look for it
- May to August
- Where
- Lawns, meadows and woodland edges in eastern North America
A small, soft, dark beetle with a yellow and red shield over its head, and a tail that lights up.
Seventeen-year cicada
Magicicada
- Size
- About 3 to 4cm long
- Look for it
- May to June
- Where
- Woods and leafy suburbs of the eastern United States
A black cicada with bright red eyes and clear wings with orange veins.
Southern black widow
Latrodectus mactans
- Size
- Female body about 1 to 1.3cm
- Look for it
- April to October
- Where
- Woodpiles, sheds and dry, dark corners across the southern and eastern United States
A shiny, jet-black spider with a round abdomen, and a red hourglass mark underneath.
Luna moth
Actias luna
- Size
- Wingspan 8 to 11cm
- Look for it
- April to August
- Where
- Broad-leaved woods in eastern North America
A large, pale green moth with long, twisted tails on its hindwings and a furry white body.
Common green darner
Anax junius
- Size
- About 7.5cm long, wingspan 9 to 11cm
- Look for it
- April to October
- Where
- Ponds, lakes and fields across North America
A large dragonfly with a bright green thorax. The male's abdomen is sky blue.
Through the year
When to look for them
Summers here are hot and humid and winters are cold, so most insects are out between May and September. The bug following you is shown in red.
Monarch
Firefly
Periodical cicada
Black widow
Luna moth
Green darner
Good to know
Six things about backyard bugs
Turn off the porch light
Outdoor lights confuse fireflies and draw moths away from where they need to be. A dark yard has more of both.
Plant what they eat
Monarchs need milkweed, and luna moths need walnut, hickory and birch. Native plants feed native insects.
Leave the leaves
Luna moth cocoons and firefly grubs spend the winter in fallen leaves. Raking them all up removes next year's insects.
People help count
Thousands of volunteers tag monarchs, map cicadas and count fireflies each year.
Less mowing
A patch of long grass and wild flowers has many times more insects than a short lawn.
Wear gloves at the woodpile
Black widows like dry, dark, undisturbed corners. A look before you reach is all it takes.
North American bugs: 1 more place
Where next?
Photo gallery
Real photos of the bugs on this page. Tap one to see it bigger.
Monarch butterfly
Common eastern firefly
Seventeen-year cicada
Southern black widow
Luna moth
Common green darner
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons and are used under free licences. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews. Open a photo to see who took it.
Wonders on the doorstep
A butterfly that flies to Mexico, a beetle that makes light and a cicada that counts to seventeen all live in ordinary American yards.
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