Difference Between Monarch and Viceroy Butterfly

The main visual difference between the Viceroy and Monarch butterfly is the black line drawn across the viceroy's hind wings, which monarch butterflies do not have. The viceroy is also a bit smaller than the monarch. Caterpillars of monarchs and viceroys are significantly different in appearance as well.

1. Does viceroy butterfly mimic monarch?
2. Why do viceroys look like monarchs?
3. Is viceroy butterfly poisonous?
4. How do you identify a monarch butterfly?
5. What was the theory of viceroy butterfly?
6. Are purple monarch butterflies real?
7. Are Monarchs toxic?
8. Is there another butterfly that looks like a monarch?
9. What butterfly looks like a monarch but is smaller?
10. Can a butterfly kill you?
11. Can a butterfly bite?
12. What do viceroy butterflies eat?

Does viceroy butterfly mimic monarch?

Viceroys (Limenitis archippus) are Monarch mimics, even though they're not very closely related. ... By looking almost the same and both being toxic partners, the two species (in this case the Monarch and the Viceroy) both benefit from each other.

Why do viceroys look like monarchs?

They decided that the reason for the similar appearance was that the viceroy had evolved colors that mimic, or copy, the monarch colors to confuse predators and thereby protected themselves. Monarch larvae eat milkweed plants that contain chemicals poisonous to birds and other predators.

Is viceroy butterfly poisonous?

Recent research indicates that the Viceroy is as poisonous as the Monarch giving each butterfly twice the protection from predators. This cross protection is known as a Mullerian mimic.

How do you identify a monarch butterfly?

Monarch Mimics and Look-Alikes

1. Monarch. Monarch adults have relatively dark black lines on the upper sides of their wings compared to queens and soldiers. ...
2. Queen. Adults have fainter black lines on their wings than monarchs, are a darker orange color overall, and have white spots on their forewings. ...
3. Soldier. ...
4. Viceroy.

What was the theory of viceroy butterfly?

The theory was that viceroys look like monarchs because monarchs don't taste good to birds. Viceroys, on the other hand, do taste good to birds. So the more they look like monarchs, the less likely they are to become a bird's dinner. Ebright's project was to see whether, in fact, birds would eat monarchs.

Are purple monarch butterflies real?

Where are purple emperor butterflies found? The purple emperor is found in and around woodland in much of central southern, south east and eastern England, and can be anticipated in parts of the West Country, the western Midlands and eastern Wales.

Are Monarchs toxic?

The monarch contains toxic compounds that disrupt a sodium ion pumping mechanism in cells. If a predator eats it, the toxins cause it to get sick, or even suffer cardiac arrest. The monarch gets the toxin from the food that its caterpillar eats, the milkweed plant.

Is there another butterfly that looks like a monarch?

Viceroy butterflies look exactly like monarchs to the untrained observer. Viceroys "mimic" monarchs in appearance.

What butterfly looks like a monarch but is smaller?

The main visual difference between the Viceroy and Monarch butterfly is the black line drawn across the viceroy's hind wings, which monarch butterflies do not have. The viceroy is also a bit smaller than the monarch. Caterpillars of monarchs and viceroys are significantly different in appearance as well.

Can a butterfly kill you?

No butterflies are so poisonous that they kill people or large animals, but there is an African moth whose caterpillar's fluids are very poisonous.

Can a butterfly bite?

Butterflies don't bite because they can't. Caterpillars munch on leaves and eat voraciously with their chewing mouthparts, and some of them do bite if they feel threatened. But once they become butterflies, they only have a long, curled proboscis, which is like a soft drinking straw—their jaws are gone.

What do viceroy butterflies eat?

Caterpillars feed on trees in the willow family (Salicaceae) including willows (Salix), and poplars and cottonwoods (Populus) (Opler, Lotts and Naberhaus 2009). Adult viceroys feed on a variety of flowers, preferring composites, but also, typically of Limenitidinae, will feed on rotten fruit, carrion, and feces.