With its iconic black and orange coloring, the monarch butterfly is one of the most well known winged insects in the world. But there are a few others who are copying this signature look. How can you spot the difference between monarch butterflies and lookalikes?
One species that looks very similar to the monarch is the queen butterfly. When viewed from the top, the wings of a queen are almost solid orange, lacking the black lines of the monarch. They have white spots scattered on the edges of their wings, and a pair of black spots close to their body that may act as false eyes to fool predators.
Another lookalike is the viceroy butterfly. This fellow looks very similar to the monarch, with similar “leaded glass” black lines. But, the orange in the viceroy is not as vibrant, and they have a telltale horizontal black line on their hind wings that you won’t see on a monarch.
The stately monarch is marked with deep and rich shades of orange. Its wings have a stained glass appearance with black lines framing the orange panes. Thick black lines edge its wings, and delicate white dots appear along the edges of the wings as well.
You can even play “spot the monarch” with the caterpillars you see in the wild. A monarch larvae is striped in vibrant black, white, and yellow. The queen caterpillar looks quite similar but the white stripes are more prominent, while the yellow coloring appears in spots rather than bold stripes. The viceroy young look nothing like their adult versions, being a pale green with two large, spiky looking antennae. In fact, they’re quite ferocious looking for something that will morph into a delicate insect.
When their wings are folded, it’s pretty difficult to tell one of these species from another, but with some persistent and patient observation, you’ll soon be able to differentiate these very similar species like an expert. Want some practice? Click here to take the National Wildlife Federation quiz to see if you can tell the difference between monarch butterflies and lookalikes.
Featured Image from danielklein/Unsplash
