Range:
This species ranges from Alberta east to the east coast, south to central Mexico,
and occurs in patches in the intermountain and southwestern states. In Idaho, it occurs in the southwest and in
patches of the central and eastern parts of the state, as well as in an isolated
patch of the panhandle.
Habitat:
It is found in open or shrubby areas, including meadows, roadsides,
and water edges.
Diet:
Caterpillar:
Caterpillars eat the leaves and catkins of willows (Salix spp.) primarily,
but may also be found feeding on poplars (Populus spp.) and on some fruit
trees (Prunus spp.).
Adult:
Butterflies use aphid honeydew, fungi, dung, carrion, and
mud for food early in the season and feed on the nectar of flowers in the sunflower
family (Asteraceae) later in the summer.
Ecology:
Eggs are well camouflaged on host plant leaves, as they resemble galls commonly
found on them. Caterpillars eat the shells of their eggs upon hatching. The
young caterpillars eat the tips of leaves while leaving the midribs, which they
rest upon. They make a dangling ball of leaf material and dung held together
with silk, which hangs from where they are feeding
and possibly serves as a distraction to potential predators. Mature caterpillars
make a "sleeping bag" (a hibernaculum) out of a rolled leaf
tied with silk in which they overwinter, in a physiological state called diapause. There is one generation of caterpillars
each summer in the north, two in the middle parts of its range, and four or
more in the south. In the case of multiple generations in a single season, only
the last generation of caterpillars overwinters. Adults generally fly from April to October. Viceroy butterflies
mimic the coloration of Monarchs. Predators find Monarchs distasteful to eat
and learn to avoid consuming them, and because Viceroys are similarly colored
and patterned, predators avoid them as well.
Reproduction:
Males perch on
vegetation well above the ground to wait for receptive females to pass by, or
they may actively patrol
for them as well. Females lay eggs on the tips of host plant leaves, typically
only two to three per plant.
Conservation:
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Global Rank: | G5; populations are widespread, abundant, and secure. |
Opler, P. A., H. Pavulaan, and R. E. Stanford. 1995. Butterflies of North America. Jamestown, North Dakota, USA: Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Home Page. http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/bflyusa/bflyusa.htm (Version 05Nov98).
Opler, P. A. and A. B.Wright. 1999. A Field Guide to the Western Butterflies. Second Edition. Peterson Field Guide Series. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, New York, USA, 540 pp.
Pyle, R. M. 1981. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, New York, USA, 924 pp.
Scott, J. A. 1986. The Butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, USA, 583 pp.
Stanford, R. E. and P. A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of Western U.S.A. Butterflies (Including Adjacent Parts of Canada and Mexico). Published by authors, Denver, Colorado, USA, 275 pp.