Queens (Danaus galippus) are rare in the BioWorks gardens, but we happen to have raised a small batch for the Flight Encounter from some donated eggs recently. We also had a sighting of a beautiful male in the Tree Grove last week. Monarchs are one of the most frequently-sighted species in our garden, but Queens are few and far between, so this early morning encounter was especially welcome.
At first sight, many people confuse Queens with Monarchs (Danaus plexippus). These two members of the Danaus genus (sometimes called the Milkweed Butterflies) practice Müllarian mimicry. Both species consume milkweed and sequester toxins from the plants in their bodies, making them both distasteful to predators such as birds. Both species utilize a aposematic or warning coloration of bright orange and red tones that generally warn of toxic qualities in prey. The two species gain an advantage against predators by each offering the same bad taste to the predators and reinforcing that bad taste with a very similar appearance.
These two butterflies do look very similar, but they’re easy to tell apart once you become familiar with them. Queens are a darker, richer shade of orange, and their wing patterns are quite different. With their wings open, the two are easy to tell apart, since Queens lack the black veining in their wings (seen below, with the Monarch on the left and the Queen on the right).
When their wings are closed, it’s easier to get confused, because both show black veining underneath. However, Queens lack the black veins on their upper wings and have white spots on their lower wings. Monarch underwings are also a much paler shade of orange. In the photo below, the Monarch is on the top and the Queen on the bottom.
Monarch and Queen caterpillars are similar too, but the easiest way to tell them apart is to look for the extra set of tubercles found mid-way down the Queen’s body. (Photo below: Queen, left; Monarch, right)
Another consideration in identifying these butterflies is range: Monarchs have a much wider range, and in most parts of the country you’re more likely to see them than Queens. Queens are more common in the southern parts of the country, though in mid-summer when the temperatures soar, you’ll occasionally find them as far north as North Dakota. Here in Florida, depending on your location, you can easily see either, so familiarize yourself with the differences and you’ll have no trouble identifying your spottings.
Interesting post - thanks for the information. Do you get the Soldier, Danaus eresimus, occurring there too? That would be even more confusing!
ReplyDeleteHow did your aberrant Queen caterpillar turn out?
Hi Nick, we have seen to occasional Soldier here which does make it more confusing. One of our volunteers photographed a Soldier nectaring in the gardens back in 2010: http://lepcurious.blogspot.com/2010/01/soldier-butterfly.html
ReplyDeleteWe also have a profusion of Viceroys from the willow trees in our on-site wetland area.
Our aberrant Queen eclosed as a perfectly normal male Queen butterfly with no signs of aberration as an adult.
I've just Googled the Viceroy butterfly. That must be very confusing. I suppose there are some advantages for us only having 20 species of butterflies occurring in this part of Scotland!
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting about the aberrant caterpillar. I wonder how that works? I believe that aberrations are not genetic mutations, but I would still imagine that if something differing from the norm went into a chrysalis then something differing from the norm would come out!
It really is pretty confusing. We have a huge number of butterflies in this part of Florida and so many of them are part of mimicry complexes that it can make identifications at any type of distance pretty tricky.
ReplyDeleteOnce you get up close the Queen, Viceroy and Monarch all look pretty different but the Soldier is so similar to the Queen that you have to get close enough to see the 'watermark' white spots on the under wing. As a fellow butterfly photographer, I'm sure you know how tough that one is.
I'll likely be on your side of the pond this winter, but alas, I will entirely miss butterfly season. I hope to be visiting Ireland this December where my brother is being conferred his PhD at Queens University, Belfast.