
Community identification
Queen Butterfly Caterpillar
Danaus gilippus
- Order & Family
- Order: Lepidoptera, Family: Nymphalidae
- Size
- Length ranges from 25mm to 45mm fully grown.
Natural Habitat
Found in warm regions, fields, and gardens where milkweed and related plants grow.
Diet & Feeding
Exclusively consumes milkweed leaves, sequestering toxic cardiac glycosides.
Behavior Patterns
Larvae feed voraciously on host plants and hang upside down from stems before pupating into a chrysalis.
Risks & Benefits
Benefits pollinators as an adult, but caterpillars can heavily defoliate garden milkweed.