Saturday, October 29, 2016

Monarch or viceroy?

Yesterday morning, Blanco Middle School teacher Pam Meier and her ecology class walked over from campus to visit our Wildscape. One student asked about the difference between monarchs and viceroys. I said I wasn't sure, but I thought that we didn't have any viceroys.

Just to double check, I took a lot of photos a while ago so I could find out. The answer is....no, we have no viceroys, just lots of beautiful monarchs and queens, too.

How do I know? The viceroy can be identified by a black line across its hind wings, which monarch butterflies do not have. The viceroy is also a bit smaller than the monarch. See comparison photos below on the National Wildlife Federation's blog.

http://blog.nwf.org/2015/03/quiz-will-these-monarch-look-alikes-fool-you/

Now here are my photos....monarchs (female left)
Monarchs (male, right, with black scent spots on hind wings)
Monarch

Monarch
Monarch, female

Monarch
Monarch, female
Monarch (sulphur nectaring below)

Queen, female
Queen, male (with black scent spots)

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