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
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 25 - 48 of 7658 verified sightings
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
Observation date: Sep 02, 2017
Submitted by: Puccini
Region: Roberts County, South Dakota, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Jun 24, 2024
Observation date: Jun 14, 2024
Submitted by: John Terpstra
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jun 20, 2024
Observation date: Jun 16, 2024
Submitted by: BeaLaporte
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jun 17, 2024
Observation date: Jun 12, 2024
Submitted by: naj.pilla
Region: Lake County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jun 15, 2024
Observation date: May 10, 2024
Submitted by: CarolynMaguet
Region: Manitoba, Canada
Verified by: chalicerae
Verified date: Jun 11, 2024
Observation date: Jun 01, 2024
Submitted by: Ozark_Bill
Region: Greene County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: Ozark_Bill
Verified date: Jun 08, 2024
Observation date: Jun 06, 2024
Submitted by: altoonamothlady
Region: Lake County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jun 07, 2024
Observation date: May 31, 2024
Submitted by: jmgesell
Region: Monroe County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jun 04, 2024
Observation date: Jun 01, 2024
Submitted by: Sometimes
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jun 02, 2024
Observation date: May 14, 2024
Submitted by: LuAnn32
Region: Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: May 15, 2024
Observation date: Oct 07, 2022
Submitted by: seemayer
Region: Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Apr 01, 2024
Observation date: Jun 04, 2023
Submitted by: terrymortier
Region: Polk County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Mar 19, 2024
Observation date: Sep 26, 2010
Submitted by: Charlie Doggett
Region: Cook County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: Charlie Doggett
Verified date: Mar 02, 2024
Observation date: Aug 29, 2023
Submitted by: eattaway92
Region: Will County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Feb 19, 2024
Observation date: Sep 01, 2022
Submitted by: eattaway92
Region: Lake County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Feb 19, 2024
Observation date: Feb 09, 2024
Submitted by: Joceb2005
Region: Collier County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Feb 09, 2024
Observation date: Jul 26, 2017
Submitted by: Puccini
Region: Roberts County, South Dakota, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Jan 18, 2024
Observation date: Jul 28, 2018
Submitted by: Puccini
Region: Richland County, North Dakota, United States
Verified by: stevekohler
Verified date: Nov 24, 2023
Observation date: Sep 16, 2023
Submitted by: butterfly rose
Region: El Paso County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Oct 15, 2023
Observation date: Sep 16, 2023
Submitted by: abrasket
Region: Boulder County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Oct 15, 2023
Observation date: Sep 01, 2023
Submitted by: Joshua C
Region: Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Oct 12, 2023
Observation date: Sep 29, 2023
Submitted by: vogelbild
Region: DuPage County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 30, 2023
Observation date: Sep 22, 2023
Submitted by: Gingurr25
Region: Posey County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Sep 22, 2023
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