Danaus chrysippus

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Family Nymphalidae

'The Nymphalidae are members of the Superfamily Papilionoidea, the true butterflies. Distributed worldwide, butterflies of this family are especially rich in the tropics. They are highly variable, and there are more species in this family than in any other. Adults vary in size from small to large, and their front legs are reduced, unable to be used for walking. Wing shape is also highly variable: some species have irregular margins (anglewings and commas), and others have long taillike projections (daggerwings). Browns, oranges, yellows, and blacks are frequent colors, while iridescent colors such as purples and blues are rare. Adults of some groups are the longest-lived butterflies, surviving 6-11 months. Adult feeding behavior depends on the species, where some groups primarily seek flower nectar while others only feed on sap flows , rotting fruit, dung, or animal carcasses. Males exhibit perching and patrolling behaviors when seeking mates. Egg-laying varies widely, as some species lay eggs in clustsers, others in columns, and others singly. Caterpillar appearance and behavior vary widely. Brushfoots overwinter as larvae or adults.

'[1]

Subfamily Danainae

Monarchs and milkweed butterflies are members of Danainae, which is a subfamily of the Family Nymphalidae. The best known member of this family is the Monarch butterfly. Danaid females lay their eggs on the milkweed on which their larvae feed . The larvae and the butterflies retain the poisonous glycosides from the milkweed and are poisonous to predators .[2]

Taxonomy

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 2009

Similar Species

Members of the genus Danaus

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 7 species and subspecies in this genus:

D. chrysippus (Plain Tiger) · D. cleophile (Jamaican Monarch) · D. eresimus (Soldier) · D. genutia (Common Tiger Butterfly) · D. gilippus (Queen) · D. plexippus (Monarch) · D. plexippus plexippus (Monarch)

More Info

• Search for Pictures: images.google.com
• Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
• Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Further Reading

• A hand-book to the order Lepidoptera. By W.F. Kirby. .. London, E. Lloyd, limited, 1896-1897. url p. 16.
• A handbook to the order Lepidoptera. By W. F. Kirby. London, E. Lloyd, limited, 1896-1897. url p. 16.
• Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, -1965. url p. 432, p. 434, p. 437, p. 444.
• Bibliography (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) / Charles A. Bridges. Urbana, Ill.: C.A. Bridges, c1993. url p. 74, p. 96.
• British journal of entomology and natural history. [London]: British Entomological and Natural History Society, 1988- url p. 102, p. 158, p. 162, p. 166, p. 67, p. 76, p. 84.
• Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College. 87 1941 Cambridge, Mass.: The Museum, 1863- url p. 474.
• Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences Los Angeles, Calif.: The Academy, 1971- url p. 25.
• Chemical interactions among milkweed plants (asclepiadaceae) and lepidopteran herbivores / by James A. Cohen. 1983. url p. 135, p. 137, p. 143, p. 145, p. 25, p. 45, p. 84, p. 87.
• Ecological animal geography; an authorized, rewritten edition based on Tiergeographie auf ockologischer grundlage / by Richard Hesse. .. prepared by W. C. Allee. .. and Karl P. Schmidt. .. New York: J. Wiley & Sons, Inc.; 1937. url p. 401, p. 567.
• Entomological news. [Philadelphia]American Entomological Society, 1925- url p. 127, p. 294.
• Journal of the New York Entomological Society. Lawrence, Kan.: Allen Press [etc.] url p. 149, p. 202.
• Madagascar: an environmental profile IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre url p. 198.
• Natural history. New York: American Museum of Natural History. url p. 66.
• Proceedings and transactions of the British Entomological and Natural History Society. London, British Entomological and Natural History Society. url p. 100, p. 56, p. 76, p. 96.
• Records of the Australian Museum. Sydney: Printed by order of the Trustees, 1890- url p. 70.
• The Biological bulletin. Woods Hole, Mass.: Marine Biological Laboratory, url p. 375.
• The Entomologist's record and journal of variation. s.l., s.n. url , , , p. 113, p. 113, p. 123, p. 124, p. 139, p. 142, p. 143, p. 157, p. 163, p. 167, p. 168, p. 183, p. 186, p. 197, p. 202, p. 203, p. 208, p. 210, p. 210, p. 211, p. 212, p. 224, p. 23, p. 249, p. 25, p. 253, p. 260, p. 261, p. 261, p. 265, p. 266, p. 268, p. 268, p. 269, p. 27, p. 276, p. 300, p. 31, p. 335, p. 40, p. 41, p. 68, p. 72, p. 77, p. 80, p. 81, p. 93, p. 94, p. 98.
• The Entomologist. London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co., [1877- url , p. 240.
• The Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. Bombay: The Society, url p. 212.
• The Lepidopterists' news: the monthly newsletter of the Lepidopterists' Society. Cambridge, Mass.: Lepidopterists' Society, 1947-1958. url p. 45.
• Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World: the IUCN Red Data Book IUCN url p. 10.
• Transactions of the Entomological Society of London. London, The Society. url p. 242.

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 9, 2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 15, 2007:

• SysTax, Lobbecke Museum Dusseldorf
• SysTax, SysTax
• University of Helsinki, Department of Applied Biology, Lepidoptera collection of Hannu Saarenmaa

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3386002
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: NZ-16772
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 14382591
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 648924

Footnotes

1. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=18&sci=Nymphalidae&com=Brush-footed Butterflies [back]
2. http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Plexippus&search=Search [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.