Texas Danaid Photographs

Eggs:

Larvae:

Pupae:

Adults:

Monarch Queen Soldier

Monarchs, Queens, and Soldiers all feed on Milkweed as Caterpillars.
Viceroys feed on Willows and Cottonwoods as Caterpillars.
Viceroys are mostly found along wet areas where their host plants grow.

Monarch Larvae:

Monarch (Danaus plexippus) and Queen (D. gilippus) - First instar larvae - Michoacan, MX
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - First instar eating egg shell
First instar larva on finger nail - Photo by William Zittrich
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - Second instar larva
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - Fifth & Third (?) Instars
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - Cohort aggression
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - Fifth instar near first instar feeding damage
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - Molting?
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - Shed skin and head capsule
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - Fourth instar stretching thorax - pre-molt?
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - Eating through stem of A. curassavica
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - Eating through stem
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - Late instar feeding on leaf - close-up
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - Fifth instar larva - petiole notching
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - Second instar as prey of assassin bug (Zelus sp., Reduviidae) - note ant on back of larva
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - Second instar as prey of assassin bug (Zelus sp., Reduviidae)
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - Pre-pupal parasitized larva
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - Pre-pupal J
Five monarch instars - Photo by Karen Oberhauser
Crochet hooks on bottom of prolegs - Journey North

Queen Larvae:

Monarch (Danaus plexippus) and Queen (D. gilippus) - First instar larvae - Michoacan, MX
Queen (Danaus gilippus) - Dead caterpillar
Queen (Danaus gilippus) - Dead caterpillar
Queen (Danaus gilippus) - Dead caterpillar
Queen (Danaus gilippus) - Feeding on seed pod
Queen (Danaus gilippus) - Feeding on flower bud
Queen (Danaus gilippus) - Feeding on leaf (note frass)
Queen (Danaus gilippus) - Initial stage of molt - Note separation of exoskeleton from head capsule
Queen (Danaus gilippus) - Lateral view on stem
Queen (Danaus gilippus) - Dark form larva from Central Texas - Photo by Bill Lindemann

Soldier Larvae:

Soldier (Danaus eresimus) - First Illustration of a Soldier Larva - 1791
Soldier (Danaus eresimus) - Dallas County Lepidopterist's Society

Monarch Pupae:

Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - Pupation site: latch on inside of screen door!
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - Dallas County Lepidopterist's Society
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - Parasitized by Tachinidae Flies
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - Oozing at base of wing!
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - Transparent pupa enclosing pharate adult
Cremaster hooks at top of pupa - Journey North

Queen Pupa

Queen (Danaus gilippus) - Dallas County Lepidopterist's Society

Soldier Pupa

Soldier (Danaus eresimus) - Dallas County Lepidopterist's Society

Monarch Adults:

Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - Dorsal view on Aster sp.
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - Extreme wear
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - Fresh dorsal
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - Fresh lateral
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - Hanging from pupa
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - Climbing above pupa
Monarch (male) mating with a Queen (female) - Austin, TX - Photo by Dinges & Holland
Monarch with Tag

Monarch Tags Recovered at El Rosario Monarch Sanctuary, 2004 - Gil Quintanilla

Queen Adults:

Queen (Danaus gilippus) - Dorsal on Asclepias curassavica
Queen (Danaus gilippus) - Lateral on Eupatorium sp.
Queen (Danaus gilippus) - Multiple Queens on Eupatorium greggii head
Queen (Danaus gilippus) - Multiple Queens on Senecio sp.
Queen (Danaus gilippus) - Lateral closeup on Senecio confusis
Queen (Danaus gilippus) - Multiple Queens on Senecio confusis
Queen (Danaus gilippus) - Multiple Queens on Asclepias curassavica
Queen (Danaus gilippus) - Courtship - Note Hair Pencils extended from end of male's abdomen
Queen (Danaus gilippus) - Pollen on face
Queen (Danaus gilippus) - Probing on Asclepias curassavica
Queen (Danaus gilippus) - Deformed wing
Queen (Danaus gilippus) - Damaged wing
Queen (Danaus gilippus) - As prey of spider (Araneidae)
Queen (Danaus gilippus) - Aberrant male

Soldier Adults:

Soldier (Danaus eresimus) - Dorsal view
Soldier (Danaus eresimus) - Lateral view - pale
Soldier (Danaus eresimus) - Lateral view - typical
Soldier (Danaus eresimus) - Lateral view - dark
Soldier (Danaus eresimus) - Lateral view - very dark
Soldier (Danaus eresimus) - Mating

Tiger Mimic-Queen

Tiger Mimic-Queen (Lycorea cleobaea) - Dorsal & Lateral view (There are four U.S. records for this species, 2 from Texas)

Viceroy

Egg - Caterpillar - Adult - Dallas County Lepidopterist's Society
- Adult Viceroys are differentiated from all the above by the black line through their hind wings
- Viceroys are mostly found along wet areas where their caterpillar food plants (Willows & Cottonwoods) grow
- Contrary to popular belief, Viceroy butterflies are bad tasting just like the Monarchs!

Monarch Videos via YouTube

Caterpillar Hatching - Accelerated
Caterpillar Pupating - Time-lapse
Caterpillar Pupating, Emerging - In Real Time
Butterfly Emerging from Pupa
Monarch Emerging from Pupa - Set to 2001 A Space Odyssey

Texas Danaid Photographs

Eggs:

Larvae:

Pupae:

Adults:

Texas Monarch Watch | Milkweed Info | Insects on Milkweed | Pix w/ Pollinia

Queen Ova:

Soldier Larvae:

Tiger Mimic-Queen

Monarch Videos via YouTube