Viceroy
Limenitis archippus (Cramer, 1776)
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Limenitidinae
Identification: Upperside is orange and black, resembling the Monarch (Danaus plexippus), except the Viceroy has a black line across the hindwing and a single row of white dots in the black marginal band. Where Monarchs are rare in Florida, Georgia, and the Southwest, Viceroys are brown instead of orange and mimic the Queen (Danaus gilippus).
Wing Span: 2 1/2 - 3 3/8 inches (6.3 - 8.6 cm).
Life History: During most of the day, males perch on vegetation or patrol around the host plants to find females. Females lay eggs at the tip of host plant leaves, depositing only two or three eggs on a plant before moving to another. Caterpillars eat their eggshells after they hatch, then at night feed on catkins and leaves. Young caterpillars make a ball of leaf bits, dung, and silk which hangs off the leaf on which they are feeding; the dangling mass may distract predators. Third-stage caterpillars make a shelter from a rolled leaf tip in which to spend the winter. The Viceroy is a Mullerian mimic of the Monarch, and it is also distasteful.
Flight: Two to three broods from May-September in most of its range, all year in Florida.
Caterpillar Hosts: Trees in the willow family (Salicaceae) including willows (Salix), and poplars and cottonwoods (Populus).
Adult Food: Early in the season when few flowers are available Viceroys feed on aphid honeydew, carrion, dung, and decaying fungi. Later generations feed more often at flowers, favoring composites including aster, goldenrod, joe-pye weed, shepherd's needle, and Canada thistle.
Habitat: Moist open or shrubby areas such as lake and swamp edges, willow thickets, valley bottoms, wet meadows, and roadsides.
Range: Northwest Territories south along the eastern edges of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountains to central Mexico, east through all the eastern United States.
Conservation: The Obsolete Viceroy (subspecies obsoleta) has lost much of its habitat due to development, water impoundment, and the exotic aggressive saltcedar.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: Restore riparian habitats in the Southwest. Conserve extant habitats.
Alternate Scientific Names:
Basilarchia archippus
Scudder, 1872
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 49 - 72 of 7624 verified sightings
Observation date: Jun 17, 2023
Submitted by: TRay
Region: Oakland County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: elsner
Verified date: Jun 26, 2023
Observation date: Jun 15, 2023
Submitted by: mtobin11
Region: Lake County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jun 26, 2023
Observation date: Jun 23, 2023
Submitted by: jmgesell
Region: Douglas County, Minnesota, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jun 24, 2023
Observation date: Jun 16, 2023
Submitted by: BeaLaporte
Region: Quebec, Canada
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jun 21, 2023
Observation date: Jul 19, 2020
Submitted by: Keith Myrom
Region: Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jun 20, 2023
Observation date: Jun 14, 2023
Submitted by: Pheasantboy77
Region: Lyon County, Minnesota, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jun 16, 2023
Observation date: Jun 05, 2023
Submitted by: Pheasantboy77
Region: St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jun 16, 2023
Observation date: Jun 09, 2023
Submitted by: jrmbutterfly
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jun 12, 2023
Observation date: Jun 10, 2023
Submitted by: Sometimes
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jun 11, 2023
Observation date: Apr 13, 2023
Submitted by: hasfitz5
Region: Cochise County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: John Saba
Verified date: May 29, 2023
Observation date: Jul 24, 2005
Submitted by: Russ Wigh
Region: Chatham County, Georgia, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: May 27, 2023
Observation date: Apr 17, 2023
Submitted by: JudyLY
Region: Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: May 17, 2023
Observation date: Apr 11, 2023
Submitted by: cdgaskamp
Region: Texas, Washington County, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Apr 11, 2023
Observation date: Apr 11, 2023
Submitted by: Dennis Forsythe
Region: Charleston County, South Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Apr 11, 2023
Observation date: Jan 31, 2023
Submitted by: mtobin11
Region: Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Mar 14, 2023
Observation date: Jan 20, 2023
Submitted by: nikkicacc
Region: Broward County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Mar 13, 2023
Observation date: Mar 05, 2023
Submitted by: theaquaholic
Region: Iberia Parish, Louisiana, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Mar 12, 2023
Observation date: Nov 10, 2022
Submitted by: Jay Brasher
Region: Lincoln County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Feb 17, 2023
Observation date: Apr 30, 2019
Submitted by: jmzcostello
Region: Hamilton County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Feb 12, 2023
Observation date: Sep 15, 2019
Submitted by: hockeybruce7
Region: Monroe County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Feb 04, 2023
Observation date: Sep 01, 2021
Submitted by: Brynne Bryan
Region: Denton County, Texas, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jan 18, 2023
Observation date: Aug 31, 2022
Submitted by: Tammarazzi
Region: Manitoba, Canada
Verified by: chalicerae
Verified date: Nov 30, 2022
Observation date: Nov 17, 2022
Submitted by: Bill Uttenweiler
Region: Brevard County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Nov 18, 2022
Observation date: Oct 18, 2022
Submitted by: Dennis Forsythe
Region: Charleston County, South Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Oct 21, 2022
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