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metal prints insects metal prints butterfly metal prints insect metal prints monarch metal prints wing metal prints scales metal prints milkweed metal prints invertebrate metal prints invertebrates metal prints scale metal prints wings metal prints lepidoptera metal prints nymphalidae metal prints butterflies metal prints migration metal prints

photographs insects photos butterfly photos insect photos monarch photos wing photos scales photos milkweed photos invertebrate photos invertebrates photos scale photos wings photos lepidoptera photos nymphalidae photos butterflies photos migration photos

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Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of Monarch butterfly wing scales (Danaus plexippus). Monarch butterfly wings have a dense concentration of scales to Monarch butterfly wings have narrower wing veins plus a spot of dense scales on each hind wing. The spot is a scent gland. Males use the pheromones produced by this gland to make themselves attractive to females. In two to five weeks of egg-laying a female will lay about 700 eggs. Generally, eggs hatch in 4 days, but cool temperatures delay hatching up to 12 days. Newly hatched caterpillars feed on milkweed, their sole source of food. Milkweed contains a poison that is harmless to monarchs, but which sickens predators. A caterpillar eventually attaches itself to a twig, sheds and forms a chrysalis from which an adult monarch butterfly emerges. An adult lives six weeks in summer but those that migrate can live six to nine months over winter. Magnification: x50 when shortest axis printed at 25

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