Danaus

American  

[dan-ey-uhs] / ˈdæn eɪ əs /

noun

Classical Mythology.

1. a ruler of Argos who ordered his 50 daughters to kill their husbands on their wedding night.

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Danaüs British  

/ ˈdænɪəs /

noun

1. Greek myth a king of Argos who told his fifty daughters, the Danaides, to kill their bridegrooms on their wedding night

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Example Sentences

To be clear, most of the large, orange-and-black butterflies known as Danaus plexippus are doing just fine.

From National Geographic • Oct. 4, 2023

Danaus plexippus is also native throughout the rest of the Americas, with stable populations found in Florida, through the entirety of Central America and the Caribbean, and as far south as Venezuela.

From Slate • Oct. 11, 2022

Fish and Wildlife Service to list the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus plexippus, as a threatened species to give it more habitat protection.

From Scientific American • Mar. 2, 2020

The fall journey takes the monarch, Danaus plexippus, thousands of kilometers south to the mountains of Mexico for the winter.

From Science Magazine • Oct. 1, 2014

The most notable of them went under Cadmus and Danaus to Greece, but the greater number followed Moses, a wise and valiant leader, to Palestine.”

From The Eliminator; or, Skeleton Keys to Sacerdotal Secrets by Westbrook, Richard B.