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poison

  • If a predator eats a monarch butterfly, it can get sick, or even suffer cardiac arrest. (Kenneth Dwain Harrelson, Wikimedia Commons)
    How The Monarch Got Its Poison
    Paul Patton
    Among butterflies, the monarch really stands out with its beautiful orange and black colors. These colors evolved to warn predators about the monarch's toxic compounds that disrupt a sodium ion pumping mechanism in cells.