Viceroy butterfly
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| Viceroy Butterfly | ||||||||||||||||||||
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 A typical Viceroy, mimic of the Monarch
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| Limenitis archippus Cramer, 1775 |
The Viceroy Butterfly (Limenitis archippus) 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[1] with the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus). In Florida, Georgia, and the Southwest, Viceroys share the pattern of the Queen Butterfly (Danaus gilippus) and in Mexico they share the pattern of the Soldier Butterfly (Danaus eresimus). In all three areas, the Viceroy populations mimic the coloration of the local Danaus species. It was originally believed that the Viceroy was a Batesian mimic of the three other species, in that it was presumably edible or only mildly unpalatable to predators, but this has since proven not to be true.
The caterpillar feeds on trees in the willow family Salicaceae, including willows (Salix), and poplars and cottonwoods (Populus). The caterpillars sequester the salicylic acid in their bodies, which makes them bitter, and upsets predators' stomachs. As further protection, the caterpillars, as well as their chrysalis stage, resemble bird droppings. Adults are strictly diurnal, they fly preferentially in the late morning and early afternoon.[2]
The Viceroy is the state butterfly of Kentucky.
[edit] References
- ^ Ritland, David B.; Lincoln P. Brower (11 April 1991). "The viceroy butterfly is not a batesian mimic" (abstract). Nature 350: 497–498. doi:.
- ^ Fullard, James H.; Nadia Napoleone (August 2001). "Diel flight periodicity and the evolution of auditory defences in the Macrolepidoptera". Animal Behaviour 62 (2): 349–368. doi:.
- Vicroy, Butterflies of North Carolina
- Description of Viceroy on Butterflies and Moths website
- A Bitter Plant Becomes a Bitter Butterfly
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