The Viceroy Butterfly / Limenitis archippus
The Viceroy butterfly is a mimic in all stages of its life. As an adult, the Viceroy butterfly uses Mullerian mimicry to defend itself against predators. The Viceroy and the Monarch butterfly mimic each other, indicating with their bright colours that they are foul-tasting and somewhat toxic to predators.
The Viceroy eggs deceive predators by resembling plant galls, and the caterpillars and chrysalis resemble bird droppings.
Host Plant(s) For The Viceroy Caterpillars
Viceroy butterflies need host plants to eat in the larval (caterpillar) stage. The host plants for Viceroy caterpillars are in the willow, poplar and cottonwood families.
Trees in the willow family (Salicaceae) include Willows (Salix spp.), and trees in the Populus genus include Poplars and Aspens. Cherry trees (Prunus spp.) and Apple trees (Malus spp.) have also been cited as host plants.
The Diet of the Viceroy Butterfly
The viceroy butterfly drinks the liquid on dung, carrion, fungi, and the nectar of plants in the Asteraceae family – goldenrods, thistles, and asters, as well as milkweed (Asclepias spp.), Joe Pye (Eutrochium spp.) and Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta).
Description: The Viceroy is a bit smaller than the Monarch but is still easily confused with it because its wings are bright orange with black vein lines and white spots along the back borders. The viceroys, however, have a thin black line across the hindwings.
If you have a Monarch butterfly garden, you might see a Viceroy nectaring in your garden as Monarch and Viceroy butterflies share many of the same nectar plants. You can sometimes distinguish a Viceroy from a Monarch by observing its behaviour. The Viceroy butterfly flaps its wings more and flits about nervously, while Monarchs are often quite calm and will let you get close. If you can get close enough, you will realize you are looking at a Viceroy by the thin black lines across the hindwings.
Wingspan: 2½ – 3 in (6.4 – 7.6 cm)
When I saw this butterfly in the Milkweeds, it fluttered around so much that I suspected it wasn’t a Monarch. I had to take the photo from a long distance away. When I zoomed up on the image, I saw the tell-tale hindwing lines and knew it was a Viceroy butterfly.
Habitat: Viceroys can be found in a variety of habitats where willows, aspens and poplar trees grow. These areas are roadsides, open areas, along rivers and streams, meadows, gardens and wetlands. They have a wide geographical range from southern Canada, throughout most of the USA to northern Mexico.
Flight/Broods: Viceroys have two or three broods per year. They fly from late May to early October.
The Viceroy Butterfly Eggs
The female Viceroy lays her gray-green, dome-shaped eggs singly on the upper tips of their host plants. They hatch in approximately five days.
The Viceroy Caterpillar
The caterpillar is brown or greenish brown with creamy coloured blotches and two knobby horns on the thorax that grow as it ages. The caterpillar resembles bird droppings to deter predation. It feeds mostly at night and eats all of a leaf except the central vein, which it uses as a perch. The host plants contain salicylic acids, which the caterpillars store in their bodies, making them and the adults mildly toxic.
When the last generation of caterpillars of the season is half-grown, they create a winter shelter for themselves. Using silk strands that they produce, they wrap the edges of leaves together and firmly attach them with silk to branches. This is called a hibernaculum. The caterpillar enters diapause and overwinters in the hibernaculum until spring. In the spring, they continue their development.
The Viceroy Chrysalis
In the spring, once the caterpillar has reached full maturity, it forms a chrysalis. The chrysalis is a blotchy brown and white with a large knob on its thorax. It resembles a bird dropping. The chrysalis stage is 7 to 10 days.
Plant a Butterfly Garden
If you have planted a Monarch garden and the Viceroy host trees grow nearby, you will have a habitat for both Monarch and Viceroy butterflies.
Many other species of butterflies share the same nectar plants with the Viceroy butterfly. By adding their particular host plants, you can attract them to your garden. Some of these butterflies profiled on this blog are:
A Butterfly Garden – is a pollinator/wildlife garden. Never use herbicides or pesticides anywhere near a butterfly garden.
Leave The Leaves
Reducing your lawn, growing more native plants and leaving the leaves in your garden are crucial things to do in a wildlife/butterfly garden. There are many different species of insects that shelter, develop and overwinter in leaf litter. Having leaf litter and plants beneath your trees also provides a soft landing and safe refuge for any chrysalis or caterpillars that become detached from branches or stems.
Shelter
Butterflies often need shelter areas within their habitat to hide from predators and protect themselves in bad weather. Shrubs, preferably native, and brush-piles are great shelters for butterflies. By planting the host and nectar plants that the Viceroy butterfly needs to complete its lifecycle, you will also provide habitat for other pollinators.
Look but do not touch – please do not buy butterfly kits or chrysalis from commercial breeders or home-reared butterflies. This is cruel to butterflies, can create unfit populations and spread diseases to the wild species.
Links to find out more about plants native to your area:
https://cwf-fcf.org/en/resources/encyclopedias/native-plant-encyclopedia
https://www.wildflower.org
Start building butterfly gardens:
https://davidsuzuki.org/take-action/act-locally/butterflyway
https://homegrownnationalpark.org
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