Queen (butterfly)
Danaus gilippus
Danaus gilippus is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae ( Nymphalidae ) and very closely with the African Monarch (Danaus chrysippus ) related. It is widely used in America and often.
- 4.1 Development
- 4.2 food of the caterpillars
- 4.3 Flight Times
- 6.1 Notes and references
Features
Imago
Danaus gilippus has a forewing length from 38 to 46 millimeters. The ground color of the wings is reddish brown to brown. The wires to the edges are dark brown to black. It differs from Danaus eresimus through a series of post -media white spots on the forewing. On the hind wing underside the black veins are often enlarged with white.
Caterpillar
The caterpillar is bluish - white on the back and sides and is red-brown to the legs out. About the bodies run reddish black stripes, which are separated by yellow ribbons or yellow dots. The head capsule is white and wearing a black triangle in the middle. In the second caterpillar stage typical of the tribe Danaini fleshy appendages are visible. A pair is located on the thorax ( segment 2) and two pairs are located on the abdomen (segment 5 and 11).
Doll
The doll is white - green to green, rarely pale pink and has several gold dots and a black ribbon with golden edges on the abdomen. But it has the shape of the doll of Danaus plexippus, is slightly slimmer.
Mimicry
In areas where the monarch butterfly is rare in the southwest and southeast of the United States, Danaus gilipus is used instead of the monarch butterfly as mimicry model for Limenitis archippus. From the eastern Texas to Florida red-brown subspecies L. archippus floridensis D. gilippus berenice mimics and from western Texas to Arizona mimics the brown subspecies L. archippus obsoleta D. gilipus strigosus after.
Occurrence
Danaus gilippus is, to Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina to the south spread from the southern United States, in the Greater Antilles, including the Bahamas and South America, including the Galapagos Islands. The type is missing in northern Brazil. The Monarch Butterfly is in the southeastern United States largely by Danaus berenice gilippus and replaced by Danaus gilippus strigosus in the southwest. The animals live in open woods and fields and come in the American South in deserts before.
Way of life
The male moths flying around all day and look for females. In the courtship and mating the typical for the genus of hair play an important role with their fragrances. To first have the tuft at the end of the abdomen touching the glands in the pockets on the back of the wings to contain the pheromone containing the ketone Danaidon (2,3- dihydro -7-methyl -1H- pyrrolizine -1-one ). Through a diol pheromone liable later to the sensors of the female. Both substances are necessary so that the female responds to the advertising of the male. When advertising flight, the male pursues the female and overhauled it. It brings his evaginated tufts of hair with the perfume close to the odor-sensitive probe of the female. A mating- ready females lands and closes its wings, otherwise it opens the wings or tried to escape. If the female is, it is flown around by the male with the turned-out tufts of hair. If the female flaps its wings, puts the male continues the courtship and attempts to bring to fly, to continue the courtship. During the mating the male lands next to the female during mating and palpated it and flies away with it. The females can mate up to 15 times, which is a record among the butterflies.
The pheromone is derived from pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which receive the animals from the sap of plants. The males can often be observed as they therefore suck on injured or decaying plants.
With the sensors, the females can next to the Danaidon perceive the smell of flower nectar. With all the legs they can identify suitable oviposition plants. The pale green eggs are laid singly on leaves, stems and flowers of the caterpillars food plants.
The moths overwinter in the south of their range.
Development
The caterpillars feed on leaves, flowers and stems of food plants. They do not form nests and live separately. You can record about their food plants cardiac glycosides, such Calactin and calotropin that make them and the later dolls and butterflies to predators inedible. The image is worse than the Monarch Butterfly and the animals are on average less toxic.
Food of the caterpillars
The food plants of the caterpillars all belong to the subfamily of milkweed plants:
- Genus Asclepias: Indian Milkweed (A. curassavica ), A. amplexicaulis, A. albicans, A. erosa, A. fascicularis, A. mexicana, A. humistrata, A. nivea, A. asperula, A. subulata, Knollige Milkweed (A. tuberosa ssp. rolfsii )
- Stapelien
- Genus Funastrum: F. hirtellum, F. clausum ( Jamaica ), F. cynanchoides
- Matelea genus: M. hirsuta, M. carolinensis,
- Genus Cynanchum: C. palustre, C. angustifolium
In Jamaica also Calotropis procera is assumed.
Flight Times
The moths fly from southern Texas and Florida throughout the year. In southern California and Nevada, they fly from April to November. In the spring of Danaus gilippus goes north from the northern Florida and migrates from August to October back south. Larger migrations with colonies of resting butterflies have been observed up to Colorado.
System
The classification of Danaus gilippus within the genus is not fully understood. He is so with the African Monarch (Danaus chrysippus ) genetically related in that both are considered to be either sister species or D. gilippus is regarded as a subspecies of D. chrysippus. The moths of both " types " are not clearly assigned because of their variable appearance.
Swell
- Scott, James A.: The butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, 1986, ISBN 0-8047-1205-0, pp. 231f (632 pages).
- Philip J. De Vries: The butterflies of Costa Rica and Their Natural History. Princeton University Press, 1997, ISBN 0-691-08420-3, pp. 212 ( 327 pages).
- Richard Irwin Vane -Wright & PR Ackery (ed.): Milkweed Butterflies. Their Cladistics and Biology. Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London 1984, ISBN 978-0801416880, pp. 208f (425 pages).