Queen Butterfly

Description:

The Queen Butterfly (Danaus gilippus) is a North and South American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae (the brush-foots) with a wingspan of 2.75–3.25" (70–88mm). It is orange or brown with black wing borders and small white forewing spots on its dorsal wing surface, and reddish ventral wing surface fairly similar to the dorsal surface. The ventral hindwings have black veins and small white spots in a black border. The male has a black androconial scent patch on its dorsal hindwings.

Habitat:

Females lay small white eggs singly on plants in the milkweed subfamily (Asclepiadoideae), including Mexican Milkweed, Swamp Milkweed, Desert Milkweed, and Sandhill Milkweed. The egg hatches into a black caterpillar with transverse white stripes and yellow spots, and three pairs of long, black filaments.

Notes:

This Queen was found on a nature walk today. This tree is a wild Button Bush growing in a dried up river over flow bed, the balls of flowers smell wonderful. The Button Bush is an aquatic tree and the river wasn't but about a 100 feet from it, so there must be plenty of water under it still. Many different kinds of butterflies were attracted to it.