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Limenitis archippus
The Viceroy Butterfly is a North American butterfly with a range from the Northwest Territories along the eastern edges of the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada mountains, southwards into central Mexico. Its wings feature an orange and black pattern, and over most of its range it is a Müllerian mimic with the Monarch butterfly. It can be distinguished from the Monarch by its smaller size and the postmedian black line that runs across the veins on the hindwing.
Spotted on Sep 20, 2011
Submitted on Dec 27, 2011
2 Comments
Carol, I find the easiest way to tell them apart is the postmedian line on the lower wing!
They used to think the Viceroy mimicked the Monarch to get protection because it wasn't poisonous, but they have since found it is & the thinking is it mimic the monarch because this is a far more common & species & more likely to be recognized by predators as unpalatable!
WOW! Looks so much like the Monarch. I wonder if I would be able to tell the difference. I guess the size difference is significant.