Limenitis archippus
(Cramer, [1775]) (Papilio)

Limenitis archippus, Florida, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Superfamily: Papilionoidea Latreille, [1802]
Family: Nymphalidae, Rafinesque, 1815, or
Family: Nymphalidae Swainson, 1827
Subfamily: Limenitidinae
Tribe: Limenitidini
Subtribe: Limenitidina
Genus: Limenitis Fabricius, 1807

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by Bill Oehlke
Box 476, Montague
Prince Edward Island, Canada C0A 1R0
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Distribution:

The Viceroy, Limenitis archippus (wingspan: 2 1/2 - 3 3/8 inches (6.3 - 8.6 cm)), flies in moist open or shrubby areas such as lake and swamp edges, willow thickets, valley bottoms, wet meadows and roadsides from the Northwest Territories south along the eastern edges of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountains to central Mexico, east through all the eastern United States and southern Canada.

The Obsolete Viceroy (subspecies obsoleta) has lost much of its habitat due to development, water impoundment and the exotic aggressive saltcedar.

Limenitis archippus idaho Austin, the Northwestern Viceroy or Idaho Viceroy, flies in riparian habitat in Oregon and Idaho and other ares of northwestern North America.

Description:

The upperside is orange and black, resembling the Monarch (Danaus plexippus), except the Viceroy has a black line across the hindwing and a single row of white dots in the black marginal band. Where Monarchs are rare in Florida, Georgia and the Southwest, Viceroys are brown instead of orange and mimic the Queen (Danaus gilippus).

Limenitis archippus, Ohio, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Limenitis archippus, Florida, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Flight time(s) and Adult Food Sources:

There are two to three broods from May-September in most of its range. it flies all year in Florida, but there is only a single brood in much of Canada.

Early in the season when few flowers are available, Viceroys feed on aphid honeydew, carrion, dung and decaying fungi. Later generations feed more often at flowers, favoring composites including aster, goldenrod, joe-pye weed, shepherd's needle and Canada thistle.

Eggs, Larvae, Pupae:

During most of the day, males perch on vegetation or patrol around the host plants to find females. Females lay eggs at the tip of host plant leaves, depositing only two or three eggs on a plant before moving to another. Caterpillars eat their eggshells after they hatch, then at night feed on catkins and leaves. Young caterpillars make a ball of leaf bits, dung, and silk which hangs off the leaf on which they are feeding. The dangling mass may distract predators. Third-stage caterpillars make a shelter from a rolled leaf tip in which to spend the winter.

Larvae feed on foliage of trees in the willow family (Salicaceae) including willows (Salix), and poplars and cottonwoods (Populus).

Limenitis archippus, hibernaculum (overwintering stage), Florida, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Limenitis archippus, Florida, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Larvae affix their anal claspers to a suitable structure via a strong silk pad and then hang in a j-shape and shed their skins one last time to form the chrysalis or pupa.

Adult butterflies emerge nine to fourteen days later.

Limenitis archippus, Florida, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

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Danaus plexippus migrant stray
Limenitis archippus
Limenitis arthemis arthemis....................
Nymphalis antipoa
Nymphalis milberti
Papilio polyxenes asterius
Papilio canadensis
Pieris rapae
Polygonia interrogationis
Polygonia satyrus
Vanessa atalanta
Vanessa cardui migrant stray
Vanessa virginiensis
migrant stray

Monarch
Viceroy
White admiral
Mourning cloak
Milbert's tortoise shell
Black swallowtail
Canadian Tiger swallowtail
Cabbage white
Question mark
Satyr comma
Red admiral
Painted lady
American painted lady

Here are some additonal northeastern North American butterflies of interest. To my knowledge, these species do not fly on Prince Edward Island, but I have reared most of them as a boy growing up in rural New Jersey.

Battus philenor
Junonia coenia
Limenitis arthemis astanax.....................
Papilio cresphontes
Papilio glaucus
Papilio troilus

Pipevine swallowtail
Buckeye
Red-spotted purple
Giant swallowtail
Eastern Tiger swallowtail
Spicebush swallowtail

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Visit other websites maintained by Bill Oehlke:

ARCTIIDAE (TIGER MOTHS)
SATURNIIDAE (SILK MOTHS) OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND: rearing info; livestock for sale.
SPHINGIDAE OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND (HAWK MOTHS)
SPHINGIDAE OF THE AMERICAS: North, Central and South America
SPHINGIDAE OF THE UNITED STATES
KIRBY WOLFE COLLECTION OF WORLDWIDE SATURNIIDAE
THIBAUD DECAENS COLLECTION OF WORLDWIDE SATURNIIDAE
LEROY SIMON SATURNIIDAE COLLECTION
TIM DYSON NIGHT VISION PHOTOGRAPHY (Catocala)
NORTH AMERICAN CATOCALA

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This site is designed and maintained by Bill Oehlke. You can reach Bill for questions by clicking on his name (email) or by phone 902-838-3455, or at Bill Oehlke, Box 476, Montague, P.E.I., Canada C0A 1R0.

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