The Soldier Butterfly

The third and least common of the milkweed butterflies in Florida is the Soldier Butterfly (Danaus eresimus) also known as the Tropical Queen. A rare treat in our MOSI gardens, this particular butterfly was feasting on Mexican flame vine. The Soldier butterfly has a coloration slightly more orange than the Queen’s rich brick red but has black lines that trace the veins in the upperside of the wings and a watermark of whitish spots on the underside of the lower wing. These differences help to visually differentiate this butterfly from a Queen, but identification can still be tricky unless you get quite close.

The Soldier butterfly 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.

Soldier larvae also host on Milkweed (Asclepias spp.) plants and can be found in   the same range as Monarchs and Queens so that all three species can be found on the same host plants. Starting off life as bright orange eggs laid on milkweed, the larvae eventually look very similar to that of a queen butterfly with their white and yellow stripes and three pair of fleshy tubercles. The chrysalis is said to have the same appearance as a Monarch and can be quite difficult to differentiate.

The Soldier is a tropical species of butterfly usually only found to the south of Central Florida and tends to be the least often seen of the milkweed butterfly species.

Photo Credit: Soldier butterfly photo by MOSI Outside volunteer, Patti W.

Well, this wraps up a week of the milkweed family of butterflies in Florida and their host plants. Hope you enjoyed it!