Queen
Danaus gilippus
Kissimmee Prairie State Park, Florida, USA - December 2011
The Queen occurs throughout the gulf states of USA and all the way south to Argentina. Like its more famous close relative, the Monarch, its larvae feed on Milkweed and assimilate toxic chemicals from the plant rendering them distasteful to predators. Some birds, however, have now learned that it is only the exoskeleton that stores the toxic chemicals and only eat the soft tissue from the interior of the butterfly's body and discarding the poisonous exoskeleton.
Kissimmee Prairie State Park, Florida, USA - December 2011
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