During the time when American wildlife was beginning to be studied, and Carolus Linnaeus was working out his taxonomic systems, one of the kings of England was called William of Orange. Two other tidbits of trivia may have influenced the naming of this species. Danaus and Plexippus were the names of two legendary kings in ancient Greece. The first species described were often named after people in ancient Greek and Roman literature. The reasons why they chose the names they did were not usually explained and can be hard to guess. The names he used often came from names other scientists had used. Credit for this name goes to Carolus Linnaeus, who invented our modern system for scientific names. The scientific name for monarch butterflies is Danaus plexippus. The monarch was the King of Butterflies in the same sense that the lion was the King of Beasts. In much of their range, they are also the biggest butterflies, with wingspans up to four inches (10cm). This ability made them seem like the strongest, smartest, and toughest of all butterflies. Most of them can find their way to their ancestor’s winter homes when they go there and then find their ways back to the places they left in spring. Some monarch butterfly are able to fly for migration of 2500 miles. When human monarchs were selected (rather than simply inheriting their positions) they were usually chosen as being the strongest, smartest, and toughest people in their group. A human monarch is a king or queen who rules alone, without necessarily having to consult any other person though good ones have always surrounded themselves with people who could give them good advice. The word monarch comes from the Greek words for one ruler.

Monark glass website