Attributes of Danaus gilippus

Queen
Danaus gilippus (Cramer, 1776)

Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Danainae
Identification: Upperside is chestnut brown; black borders of forewings have 2 rows of white spots; white spots are scattered at the forewing apex. Underside of hindwing has black veins; black borders of both wings have 2 rows of white spots. Upperside of male hindwing has a black scale patch. Very similar to the Soldier (Danaus eresimus), but is more brown and has less defined wing veins on the upperside. Underside hindwing lacks band of pale spots present in the Soldier. Queens in the southwest (and sometimes in the southeast) have pale veins on the upperside of the hindwings, which are lacking in the Soldier.
Wing Span: 2 5/8 - 3 7/8 inches (6.7 - 9.8 cm).
Life History: To find females, males patrol all day. Females lay eggs singly on leaves, stems, and flower buds; which the caterpillars eat. Adults roost communally.
Flight: All year in Florida and South Texas, July-August in the north.
Caterpillar Hosts: Milkweeds and milkweed vines. Some of the milkweeds contain cardiac glycosides which are stored in the bodies of both the caterpillar and adult. These poisons are distasteful and emetic to birds and other vertebrate predators. After tasting a Queen, a predator might associate the bright warning colors of the adult or caterpillar with an unpleasant meal, and avoid Queens in the future.
Adult Food: Nectar from flowers including milkweeds, fogfruit, and shepherd's needle.
Habitat: Open, sunny areas including fields, deserts, roadsides, pastures, dunes, washes, and waterways.
Range: Resident in extreme southern United States south through tropical lowlands of the West Indies and Central America to Argentina. Regular stray and sometime colonist in the plains; rarely along Atlantic coastal plain to Massachusetts and the Great Plains. Comments: The Florida Viceroy (Limenitis archippus floridensis) is also inedible and mimics the Queen.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
Taxonomy Notes:

Images of Danaus gilippus

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The map below displays all verified sighting records in the BAMONA database for this species. Each record is indicated with a yellow dot. The orange dots on the map provide access to information about the 400 most recently verified sightings of this species. In some instances, there are several records at the same location. Use the table view to access these records.

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The fifty most recently verified sightings are below. See more recently verified sightings of all species.

Observation Date Submitter Region Verified Datesort icon
January 20, 2013 Naseem Reza Volusia County, Florida, United States April 17, 2013 Details
March 09, 2013 mrcnaturally Collier County, Florida, United States March 27, 2013 Details
July 18, 1971 stomlins701 Bexar County, Texas, United States March 14, 2013 Details
January 22, 2013 Sandra Cooper Texas, Starr County, United States February 22, 2013 Details
January 03, 2013 ccbelknap Lee County, Florida, United States February 11, 2013 Details
November 11, 2012 Roy Brown Wakulla County, Florida, United States February 11, 2013 Details
February 02, 2013 TSims Lee County, Florida, United States February 11, 2013 Details
December 04, 2012 Roy Brown Dougherty County, Georgia, United States January 30, 2013 Details
October 15, 2012 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States January 27, 2013 Details
December 21, 2012 Cheryl Jennings Pima County, Arizona, United States January 08, 2013 Details
October 12, 2012 lorispencer (Charles Mills) Howard County, Arkansas, United States January 06, 2013 Details
October 04, 2012 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States January 03, 2013 Details
November 13, 2012 swittwa Sarasota County, Florida, United States January 02, 2013 Details
December 10, 2012 opiliones Mohave County, Arizona, United States December 13, 2012 Details
December 10, 2012 dsillyp Collier County, Florida, United States December 11, 2012 Details
November 08, 2011 donduck Palm Beach County, Florida, United States December 07, 2012 Details
November 22, 2012 toddewen Hillsborough County, Florida, United States December 07, 2012 Details
September 07, 1983 legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) Elko County, Nevada, United States December 01, 2012 Details
June 18, 1983 legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) Esmeralda County, Nevada, United States December 01, 2012 Details
August 01, 1987 legacy.reporter (John G. Pasko) Douglas County, Nevada, United States December 01, 2012 Details
July 30, 1988 legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) Storey County, Nevada, United States December 01, 2012 Details
June 26, 1988 legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) Washoe County, Nevada, United States December 01, 2012 Details
September 14, 2012 Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport) Kern County, California, United States December 01, 2012 Details
April 17, 1994 legacy.reporter (Lauritz Muehlbach) Yavapai County, Arizona, United States December 01, 2012 Details
December 11, 2000 legacy.reporter (Alex Grkovich) Mohave County, Arizona, United States December 01, 2012 Details
December 15, 2000 legacy.reporter (Alex Grkovich) Mohave County, Arizona, United States December 01, 2012 Details
October 13, 2012 aahewetson Jack County, Texas, United States November 25, 2012 Details
November 22, 2012 Maxintaft Texas, San Patricio County, United States November 25, 2012 Details
November 22, 2012 colleen mccarthy-evans Santa Barbara County, California, United States November 22, 2012 Details
October 07, 2012 MrDibbons Baja California Sur, Mexico November 20, 2012 Details
November 09, 2012 cedarcyclist Texas, United States, Williamson County November 19, 2012 Details
September 23, 2012 Jeff Trahan De Soto Parish, Louisiana, United States November 14, 2012 Details
October 04, 2012 rseidler Bossier Parish, Louisiana, United States November 14, 2012 Details
October 22, 2012 Jeff Trahan Caddo Parish, Louisiana, United States November 14, 2012 Details
November 03, 2012 rseidler Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, United States November 13, 2012 Details
October 13, 2012 JimConrad Texas, United States, Uvalde County November 12, 2012 Details
October 29, 2012 whbauer Bexar County, Texas, United States November 10, 2012 Details
October 21, 2012 JimConrad Texas, United States, Uvalde County November 10, 2012 Details
October 01, 2012 guy_incognito Collier County, Florida, United States November 07, 2012 Details
September 28, 2012 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States October 21, 2012 Details
October 16, 2012 LowRoller Hendry County, Florida, United States October 18, 2012 Details
September 07, 2012 Jeff Trahan Cochise County, Arizona, United States September 18, 2012 Details
September 09, 2012 docdemory Orange County, California, United States September 11, 2012 Details
August 19, 2012 gibaro44 Texas, United States, Wilson County September 10, 2012 Details
August 26, 2012 DeeinTx Texas, United States, Williamson County September 05, 2012 Details
September 01, 2012 lefevers Otero County, New Mexico, United States September 02, 2012 Details
August 25, 2012 lefevers Caddo Parish, Louisiana, United States August 29, 2012 Details
June 06, 2012 bayouchic Morehouse Parish, Louisiana, United States August 12, 2012 Details
July 25, 2009 jeffmci9 Texas, Travis County, United States August 08, 2012 Details
July 31, 2012 cahill@graysoncable.com Grayson County, Texas, United States August 01, 2012 Details