Observation of the Week June 12th – 18th, 2022

Welcome to the 5th Observation of the Week (OOTW). We are just over one month into the project and have reached over 250 observations of 35 species.

This week’s OOTW is a viceroy, observed by Darryl (aka: @darrylgwynne). Darryl says, “This was my first butterfly count of the season (data yet to be uploaded!) and was taken in the first part of the 5km walk […]. I thought the butterfly seemed too small for a monarch (which I haven’t seen on my walk yet). Luckily it landed close-by and posed for a photo which was then identified by iNaturalist.”

Besides their size, a key visual difference between a viceroy and a monarch is the line across a viceroy’s hind wing. See the photos below for a colourful comparison.

Often, when talking about viceroys, the topic quickly changes to monarchs. After all, monarchs are a poster species for pollinators and a very familiar butterfly in our area. However, there is certainly more to a viceroy than its differences to the monarch.

For example, did you know:

  • Viceroys don’t migrate, they overwinter as young caterpillars and will roll a leaf into a tight tube to hide inside until spring arrives. This leaf tube is called a hibernaculum.
  • Viceroy caterpillars eat willows, poplars, and cottonwoods. These tree species grow in wet areas like marshes, meadows, and wetlands – so these are also the best place to see viceroys flying.
  • A viceroy’s flight pattern differs from a monarch’s. A monarch’s flight is float-like, whereas a viceroy will flap-flap-glide in comparison.
  • Viceroys were once considered to be Batesian mimics. With this kind of mimicry, viceroys would trick predators into thinking that they were poisonous and distasteful, like monarchs, because of their similar appearance. But in recent years scientists have discovered that viceroy butterflies are actually also poisonous and distasteful to predators. This makes them Mullerian mimics, which is the name for the kind of mimicry when two or more species copy each other’s warning signals for their mutual benefit.
  • Viceroy caterpillars are also mimics – they look like bird droppings!

Fun fact: Pollinator week is June 20th- 26th. Pollinator Week is an annual event celebrated in support of pollinator health. The Pollinator Week citizen science project on iNaturalist is hosted by the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign's (NAPPC) Pollinator Communications Taskforce. During this week, your butterfly observations will be automatically added to the North American Pollinator project on iNaturalist.

Have fun, keep butterflying, and we look forward to seeing those registered out at the Butterfly Count this weekend!

Written by @lltimms, Senior Specialist in Natural Heritage, CVC and @kristenvalencia, Program Assistant in Community Outreach, CVC

Posted on 21 de junho de 2022, 06:54 PM by kristenvalencia kristenvalencia

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