milkweed butterfly
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of milkweed butterfly
An Americanism dating back to 1875–80
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Naturalists recently witnessed several species of milkweed butterfly harassing, subduing and subsequently feeding on milkweed caterpillars, presumably to get their fill of toxic alkaloids inside the larvae.
From New York Times • Sep. 9, 2021
The milkweed butterfly has an odor like "the faint sweet fragrance of red clover blossoms."
From Time Magazine Archive
This butterfly has assumed almost the exact color and markings of the milkweed butterfly, which is distasteful to birds, and hence enjoys peculiar freedom from the attacks of enemies.
From Bee and Butterfly A Tale of Two Cousins by Madison, Lucy Foster
One species of butterfly in particular feeds upon this plant—the monarch, or milkweed, butterfly.
From Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Nature Study by Ontario. Ministry of Education
The caterpillar of the monarch or milkweed butterfly is a very striking creature.
From Boy Scouts Handbook The First Edition, 1911 by Boy Scouts of America
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
