Queen
Danaus gilippus

Named

Cramer, 1775

queen.jpg

Identification

Wingspan: 3 3 3/8". Superficially resembles the Monarch, but may be told by chestnut coloration and double row of white spots crossing apex and outer edge of forewings. Florida populations of the Viceroy are similarly colored but do not occur in our area.

Distribution

Southern California east to Florida and southern Georgia, and south through the West Indies and Central America to Argentina. Strays and occasionally colonizes northward to Utah, Nebraska, Kansas, and the Midwest. There is a single New England record.

Status in Massachusetts

Vagrant, with one Massachusetts record from Martha‘ s Vineyard, recorded by Kimball and Jones as follows: "of this southern species an example in good condition was captured on the shore of Lambert‘s Cove, July 8, 1934, by two grandsons of Major General George W. Goethals, and brought by them in fresh condition to Llewellyn W. Cleveland, Vineyard Haven, in whose collection it is preserved."

Queen map

Flight Period in Massachusetts

Emigrants in the eastern United States normally appear in August, but occasionally at other times (Opler and Krizek).

Larval Food Plants

Milkweeds are the larval hosts.

Adult Food sources

Information for this species in Massachusetts is currently unavailable.

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Habitat

A variety of open habitats where milkweeds occur.

Life Cycle

Information for this species in Massachusetts is currently unavailable.

Account Author

Richard K. Walton