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VICEROY
Limenitis archippus
Family Nymphalidae - Brush-Footed Butterflies
Order Lepidoptera - Butterflies and Moths
Risk Status
Official status
The Viceroy butterfly has been assigned an Extirpated
status (CDC = G5
SX) in British Columbia. It formerly occurred rarely in the
dry valleys of the southern interior.
Image Credits: Viceroy sketch in
'Rare Invertebrates of the South Okanagan' by Hannah Nadel
Distinguishing features
Members of the Brush-footed Butterfly family are covered with
long, hairy scales and the fore legs are greatly reduced in both
sexes. Most species are strong fliers, several are migratory, and
many overwinter (not Viceroy) in the adult stage.
The orange and black Viceroy (Limenitis archippus) was
given its common name because it mimics the Queen and poisonous
Monarch butterflies. It has however, a much more restricted range
than the Monarch. Birds avoid Viceroys if they have previously sampled
a Monarch or a Queen. The veins of this species are dusted with
black scales and the hind wing has a narrow black line on the hindwing.
The caterpillars have a striking resemblance to bird droppings,
giving the insect considerable protection from predators.
Distribution
British Columbia
Although the Monarch still persists in small numbers in the Thompson
and Okanagan valleys, the Viceroy has disappeared completely from
the province.
North America
The Viceroy is found from southern Canada and New England south
to Georgia and Mississippi, west from eastern Colorado and Montana
to Washington State.
Habitat
The Viceroy commonly inhabits riverbeds, wet meadows, marshes,
drainage and irrigation ditches and gallery forests, wherever willow,
poplar and aspen occur. Although they are found in a variety of
habitats, they are never far from their favoured foodplants.
Why is it endangered?
Rare invertebrates of the south Okanagan and Similkameen valleys
such as this species are threatened not by direct exploitation,
but by loss or degradation of their habitats. They are at risk because
their ecosystems are at risk.
The grasslands of the southern interior of the province are a
valuable agricultural resource, and their rich soils have been ploughed
and irrigated to produce tree fruits, grapes, and vegetables. Pesticide
use has probably had a great impact on native insects living in
around agricultural areas. As well, heavy grazing has altered the
plant composition of grasslands, changing the invertebrate communities.
The Viceroy probably became a victim of apple orchard pesticides.
It would have been especially susceptible to these chemicals since
some of its favourite larval food plants are domestic fruit trees.
The massive diversity of invertebrate species in British Columbia
makes it very difficult for entomologists to do a literature or
collection survey to determine which species are endangered or threatened.
Specialized, detailed surveys will be required for almost every
species that is suspected of being endangered. Despite a general
ignorance about invertebrate distribution, information is known
about a number of species that are confined to threatened habitats
of very limited extent in the Thompson-Okanagan valleys.
Biology
The eggs of the Viceroy are ovoid but flattened near their point
at attachment to the foodplant and pale green or pale yellow, turning
grayish later. They are laid singly, preferably on the upperside
of the tips of young host leaves.
The prediapausal
larvae characteristically construct hibernacula
(small cylindrical overwintering shelters made of a foodplant
leaf and silk). It has been suggested that the hibernacula diverts
predators' attention from the larva. The mature larva resembles
a bird dropping.
The larvae feed (often at night) on catkins in spring, later on
leaves. Numbers of adult broods vary from one to three or four,
depending on the species and geographic location. The pupae have
a characteristic postcephalic
"saddle horn" and prominent, lateral wing cases.
The mature larvae of the Viceroy closely resemble those of L.
astyanax and L. arthemis.
Male Viceroy perch 1-2 m above the ground on vegetation and patrol
all day near the host plants to seek females. They glide with their
wings held horizontally, not at an angle as does a Monarch or Queen.
The Viceroy has one flight, probably June-July, in the far northern
part of its range and two flights, mostly June and August in the
northern United States and Ontario.
A wide variety of foodplants is favoured, including willow, poplar,
aspen, cottonwood, and less often birch, oak, hawthorn, gooseberry,
deerberry, apple, cherry, plum and basswood. The adult Viceroy will
sip flower nectar, aphid honeydew, and moisture from rotting wood,
fungi, dung, mud, and sap.
Birds that have not had the experience of sampling a poisonous
Monarch or Queen butterfly readily eat Viceroy butterflies.
Sources for more
information
Related On-line Sites to Visit
Publications
Biodiversity of BC, Ch4. , Cannings, 1994, p. 49
Rare Invertebrates of the Southern Okanagan, brochure, MOE, March
1995
The SOCAP Workshop Summary, The Nature Trust, 1989.
Guppy, C.S. and J.H. Shepard. 2001. Butterflies of British
Columbia. Royal British Columbia Museum and University of BC Press.
Howe, W.H. The Butterflies of North America. New York: 1975.
Scott, J.A. The Butterflies of North America. Stanford U. Press,
1986.
Museum Specimens
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