Queen butterfly by David Whited

Queen butterfly

David Whited

Queen butterfly

Digital photography

Inv: WF-1560

The Queen butterfly (*Danaus gilippus*) is a North and South American species in the milkweed butterfly group, with a wingspan of roughly 3 to 3.5 inches, and is a close relative of the Monarch — smaller and a darker chestnut-brown, with black-bordered wings marked by two rows of small white spots and black-veined hindwings underneath. Its caterpillars feed exclusively on milkweed and related plants, absorbing toxic compounds that make both larvae and adults distasteful to predators, a defense advertised by their bold warning coloration. Males are notable for elaborate courtship behavior, using hair-pencil organs on their abdomen to brush a seductive pheromone onto a female's antennae during flight. The Queen is a year-round resident of the Deep South and Gulf Coast, ranging from the southern United States through the West Indies, Central America, and south to Argentina, favoring open, sunny habitats like fields, deserts, dunes, and roadsides.

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From David Whited

Whiskey Painting, Proposal Rock at Neskowin Beach on the Oregon Coast.

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White Phalaenopsis orchids

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Additional Details

Additional Artworks

Whiskey Painting, Proposal Rock at Neskowin Beach on the Oregon Coast.

Whiskey Painting, Oregon Coastline

Monarch butterfly and a bee on a thistle flower

Whiskey Painting, Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah, USA (Prints available)

White angel's trumpet flowers

White-necked Jacobin hummingbird on purple toadflax flowers

Wild geranium

White Phalaenopsis orchids