Viceroy

I’ve seen one two times, that I know of, and I’ve gotten photographs both times. A Viceroy (Limenitis archippus). The first one was spotted and photographed at my cousin’s house in Ottsville, Pennsylvania.

The second photograph was taken at the bottom of my mountain, where I stopped at the stop sign and this Viceroy came by to say hello.

Though the Viceroy is a butterfly that looks a good bit like a Monarch (Danaus plexippus), there are a couple things to look for in order to tell the difference. One, the Viceroy is a smaller butterfly, but sometimes that size difference is difficult to recognize. The one sure thing I know to look for is the black line that is circled in both these images for you to see. The Monarch does not have that line.

Let me know if you see any Viceroys.

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Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.

One thought on “Viceroy”

  1. I’m going to send you a picture of a butterfly in my back yard. Don’t see them anymore. But he had a rope pattern on the inside. Yellow and black but on his underside he had some blue. Really interesting. I’ll be looking closer for that line. HA

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