This is a Queen Butterfly – Danaus gilippus NOT a Monarch Butterfly

Queen butterfly caterpillars resemble Monarch caterpillars. Their color is a bit different than Monarch caterpillars. Queen caterpillars have an extra set of filaments. Gardeners who see a Queen caterpillar for the first time often think it is a Monarch caterpillar with an extra set of filaments.

Queen butterflies are cousins of popular Monarch butterflies. Both use milkweed (Asclepias species) as host plants.
Like Monarch caterpillars, Queen caterpillars often cut the leaf vein before they eat a leaf.
An adult female Queen butterfly drinks nectar from Spanish Needles flowers. Females do not have the two black dots on their hind wings. Queen butterflies drink from many different species of flowering plants.
What follows in information on monarchs:

Most monarchs live from two to six weeks as an adult butterfly, but the Monarch's migration is the KEY to its yearly life cycle.

The total time frame for one butterfly's life cycle (one generation) is about 6-8 weeks . . . egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly. It grows inside the egg for about 4 days. It then munches milkweed and grows as a monarch caterpillar (larvae) for about 2 more weeks. The caterpillar's life inside the chrysalis (pupa) lasts about 10 days and its wonderful life as an adult butterfly lasts from 2 - 6 weeks.

February-March - hibernating monarchs in Mexico and southern California reawaken, become active, find a mate, begin the flight northward and lay their eggs. Finally they die. These special monarchs have lived about 4-5 months through the long winter.

March-April -the 1st generation monarchs are born -egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, adult butterfly;

May-June - the 2nd generation is born - egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, adult butterfly;

July-August - the 3rd generation is born - egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, adult butterfly;

Sept-Oct - the 4th generation is born - egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, adult butterfly . . . but THIS generation does not die. It MIGRATES south and lives 6-8 months in Mexico or Southern California. They begin awakening and mating in February-March of the NEXT SPRING, and then lay their eggs! Withered and tattered from their migration and hibernation . . . they finally die.
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