Queen butterfly
Danaus gilippus
The monarch’s southern cousin, common enough in Texas, Florida and Arizona that people often mistake it for a dark monarch.
What it does on milkweed
Queen caterpillars eat Asclepias and the twining milkweed vines of the genus Funastrum, and sequester cardenolides in the same way monarchs do. Adult males have a second requirement: they gather pyrrolizidine alkaloids from dried dogbane, heliotrope and boneset, and convert them into the pheromone they need to court a female. A garden with milkweed and no alkaloid source will hold queens but breed few.
How to recognize it
Deep chestnut brown rather than orange, without the monarch’s heavy black veining on the upper wing, and scattered with white spots across the forewing. Caterpillars look much like a monarch’s but carry three pairs of filaments rather than two.
Where and when
Florida, the Gulf coast, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and southern California, straying north in late summer. Most often seen March to November.
Should you do anything about it?
A welcome sight. The same plants that feed monarchs feed queens.
Queen butterfly: common questions
How do I tell a queen from a monarch?
Count the filaments on the caterpillar: monarchs have two pairs, queens have three. On the adult, a monarch has bold black veins on the upper wing and a queen does not.
Cite this page
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Milkweed USA. (2026). Queen butterfly (Danaus gilippus). Retrieved DATE, from https://milkweedusa.com/wildlife/queen-butterfly/
"Queen butterfly (Danaus gilippus)." Milkweed USA, 2026, https://milkweedusa.com/wildlife/queen-butterfly/. Accessed DATE.
Milkweed USA. "Queen butterfly (Danaus gilippus)." Last modified 2026-08-01. Accessed DATE. https://milkweedusa.com/wildlife/queen-butterfly/.
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title = {Queen butterfly (Danaus gilippus)},
author = {{Milkweed USA}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://milkweedusa.com/wildlife/queen-butterfly/},
note = {Accessed DATE}
}