The Queen Butterfly

The Queen butterfly (Danaus gilippus)  is the second of three milkweed feeding butterflies that resides  in the state of Florida. Seen less often than the ubiquitous Monarch, they can be distinguished by the darker brick  red color of their wings that looks very different from the Monarch’s bright orange coloration.  Also, the topside of their wings is unmarked with the black lines that follow the veins on a Monarch’s wing.

The Queen butterfly is native to both North and South America and is a member of the Nymphalidae or brush-foot family. The adult butterfly only appears to have 4 legs as the last 2 insect legs are very small and are located near the butterfly's head. As adults, these delightful butterflies are clever mimics utilizing Mullarian mimicry to reinforce the warning colors and distasteful qualities of several related species, gaining all three species more protection from predators.

Queen butterfly larvae are just so lovely but are often mistaken for Monarch butterfly larvae. As a member of the Danaid species, the Queen, much like the monarch, hosts on Milkweed (Asclepias spp.) plants. So basically, this is the other caterpillar you might find eating your milkweed. The third set of tubercles (fleshy antenna looking projections) helps to distinguish it from the Monarch caterpillar. Queen caterpillars tend to eat slower than monarchs and can quickly by outpaced by their voracious cousins.

The chrysalis of a Queen looks a great deal like a monarch chrysalis but they tend to be slightly smaller in size and may have a yellow-green coloration similar to that of a wax bean.

Photo Credit: Queen butterfly photo by Jill Staake