What is orange, painted black, and is always seen around the beginning of fall? If you said jack-o-lantern, try again. It’s the monarch butterfly! The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is the charismatic face of all Lepidoptera, the order of animal life that contains all of our extant moths and butterflies. Weighing in at well under 0.1 of an ounce (less than a single sheet of paper), about 3”-4” wide, and boasting a truly vibrant orange color with black borders and white dots, the monarch’s grandeur is unique.