Wishlist Wednesday - Queen Butterfly

Photo by Bob Peterson on Wikimedia

Danaus gilippus
 
I’ve been participating in a Monarch Butterfly study because they are migrating. We catch them, weigh them, measure them, tag them, and then release them again. They are on their way to Mexico to overwinter.

While we have been attempting to catch the wily insects, we have to avoid accidentally netting some of their mimics. We see mostly Painted Ladies, but I would really love to see a Queen Butterfly.

To my knowledge, I have never seen one. They are large and orange and white and black like Monarchs, but they are more solid and more brownish orange. Like Monarchs, they use milkweed as their host plants along with dogwoods. Even the caterpillar looks similar to the Monarch caterpillar, but a bit darker.

Queen Butterflies also do not undergo the arduous migration that Monarchs do. They may move slightly south to warmer climes. They are found throughout the Americas, so much of their range has mild winters.
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I’ll keep my eyes peeled as I’m netting Monarchs, but I would love to meet the Queen!

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