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 1 - 24 of 7651 verified sightings
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Observation date: Aug 01, 2024
Submitted by: Lisahug
Region: Huron County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 20, 2024
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Observation date: Jul 26, 2024
Submitted by: ian pepper
Region: Essex County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Aug 15, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/viceroy_50.jpg?itok=i3dd_hFY)
Observation date: Aug 12, 2024
Submitted by: canocker
Region: New Brunswick, Canada
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Aug 13, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/viceroy_7-31-2024.jpg?itok=JDTSLlqg)
Observation date: Jul 31, 2024
Submitted by: cjgoin
Region: Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Aug 02, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/dscn0421.jpeg?itok=Q-8IWmP3)
Observation date: Jul 25, 2024
Submitted by: Elisabeth_Cassinari
Region: Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jul 29, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/dcs_6641.jpeg?itok=AZC9V7fB)
Observation date: Jul 25, 2024
Submitted by: joanfiller
Region: Tompkins County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 28, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/4bfa4a2e-c40d-4f9c-b339-d499d64f7951.jpeg?itok=Ceq0-Oiq)
Observation date: Jul 15, 2024
Submitted by: danahoover
Region: Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 16, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/viceroy_prairie_wolf_fp_7-13-24.jpg?itok=lJbVlXI9)
Observation date: Jul 13, 2024
Submitted by: mtobin11
Region: Lake County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 15, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/viceroy_jm_beach_7-11-24.jpg?itok=4Ab46uYo)
Observation date: Jul 11, 2024
Submitted by: mtobin11
Region: Lake County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 15, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/viceroy_west_skokie_nature_preserve_7-14-24.jpg?itok=xsOpwLNS)
Observation date: Jul 14, 2024
Submitted by: mtobin11
Region: Lake County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 15, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/9-viceroy_bear_cub_rd_lake_placid_july_6_2024_1106am.jpg?itok=Y3wLKrRn)
Observation date: Jul 06, 2024
Submitted by: Tom Dudones
Region: Essex County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 09, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/8e651b28-dd58-4d8a-84a7-c00995915550.jpeg?itok=PXPEPtam)
Observation date: May 31, 2024
Submitted by: danahoover
Region: Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 06, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/2024_07_05_monarch_winterberry.jpg?itok=pwtR81TL)
Observation date: Jul 05, 2024
Submitted by: maryjanzen
Region: Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 05, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/pxl_20240611_171116624.jpg?itok=cMiFUH27)
Observation date: Jun 11, 2024
Submitted by: bekkfree
Region: Cowley County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Jul 01, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/rscn8212.jpg?itok=GCe4duNG)
Observation date: Aug 30, 2020
Submitted by: Benjamin Miller
Region: Knox County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jun 29, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/viceroy_harrietstown_marsh_june_26_2024_1143am.dscn0408.jpg?itok=_n-3C4zo)
Observation date: Jun 26, 2024
Submitted by: Tom Dudones
Region: Franklin County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jun 28, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/viceroy_51.jpg?itok=iQ57yQyS)
Observation date: Aug 31, 1995
Submitted by: papilio1
Region: Grayson County, Texas, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jun 26, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/bjd_mtca_2022_09460_nymphalidae_limenitis_archippus.jpg?itok=GmvqQpZs)
Observation date: Sep 10, 2023
Submitted by: Ozark_Bill
Region: St. Charles County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Jun 24, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/img_1159lb_viceroy_below_front_1159.jpg?itok=p3DN3ptV)
Observation date: Sep 02, 2017
Submitted by: Puccini
Region: Roberts County, South Dakota, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Jun 24, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/viceroy_limenitis_archippus_jtf_8952.jpg?itok=ho6549lL)
Observation date: Jun 14, 2024
Submitted by: John Terpstra
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jun 20, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/img_9146_2.jpg?itok=Q7Xzay8x)
Observation date: Jun 16, 2024
Submitted by: BeaLaporte
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jun 17, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/20240612_limenitis_archippus_-_mccloskey_bur_oak_savanna_in.jpg?itok=r1aZLLud)
Observation date: Jun 12, 2024
Submitted by: naj.pilla
Region: Lake County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jun 15, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/img_2491.jpeg?itok=FAk9G3D0)
Observation date: May 10, 2024
Submitted by: CarolynMaguet
Region: Manitoba, Canada
Verified by: chalicerae
Verified date: Jun 11, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/24-06-01_rnbh_ozb_0055-nymphalidae-limenitis_archippus.jpg?itok=LfVbbs4i)
Observation date: Jun 01, 2024
Submitted by: Ozark_Bill
Region: Greene County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: Ozark_Bill
Verified date: Jun 08, 2024
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