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Danaus plexippus
The male has a black patch of androconial scales responsible for dispersing pheromones on the hind wings, and the black veins on its wing are narrower than the female’s. The male is also slightly larger than the female. --Wikipedia
North America, ranging from Canada to South America.
A lovely Monarch butterfly hanging out on some lantana.
Spotted on May 20, 2011
Submitted on May 20, 2011
8 Comments
The thickness of the veins can vary, but the dot is the distinguishing characteristic...and it is there...I feel pretty confident about calling it a male.
Yes I do believe you are correct. It is a male. I was thrown off by the dark veins too. :)
I know what you mean, because I saw that too! But males have reeeally thin black veins on their wings, the females have thicker ones like this. So I came to the conclusion that it's just some variation in thickness in the vein rather than it actually being the black spot. Since those veins are way too thick otherwise!!
nice pic by the way! :-)
I think it might be a male too...due to the spot on the lower wing like ceherzog said.. http://www.adver-net.com/monpics.html
I think it's a male...I see the spot on the hind wing.
Beautiful pictures
Yeah me too! And thanks! :)
I love monarchs :) And you're right about the gender too, she's beautiful! Great shots