Queen butterfly

Queen Butterfly - Monarch Butterfly MIMIC

 

The Queen belongs to the family of the Danaidae. The Danaidae are known as "Milkweed Butterflies" since they not only feed on milkweed, but also lay their eggs on it. The Queen butterfly nectars on a wide variety of plants, one of which is the Lantana camara portrayed in this image. It survives on the energy it gets from the sugar that the nectar contains, as well as on the nutrition it stored in its body as a caterpillar. The Queen butterfly is a fierce migrator and can travel distances from Southern Florida to Massachussetts. Most butterflies live for one to two weeks but the Queen can survive an entire winter season. As with other North American Danaus species, it is involved in mimicry with the Viceroy (Limenitis archippus) and Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) where the three co-occur. The diet of Milkweed makes all three unpalatable to predators.
  

Artist: Gusta Van Dobbenburgh

E-mail address:gusta@botanical.nl

Website: www.botanical.nl
Gusta has been planning to paint more butterflies and is continuously expanding on her botanical cards. Also, her first calendar is coming out this spring! All to be seen on her updated website soon!