Viceroy

This pretty butterfly is often mistaken for the more well-known Monarch. Watch for it on its host plants listed below. It is most often found in moist open or shrubby areas such as lake and swamp edges, willow thickets, valley bottoms, wet meadows, and roadsides.

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  • Aspen – Populus spp

    Cottonwood – Populus spp

    Poplar – Populus spp

    Willow – Salix spp

  • None that I am aware of

  • Can be found puddling, feeding on aphid honeydew, carrion, decaying fungi, dung, rotting fruit, and tree sap

    Aster, Black-eyed Susan, Goldenrod, Hyssop, Joe-Pye Weed, Milkweed, Purple Coneflower, Sedum, Thistle

  • Brazilian Verbena, Butterfly Bush (make sure you use a sterile variety), Shepherd’s Needle

  • April-October. 2-3 broods each year, last brood overwinters

  • Butterflies and Moths of North America https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/

    Brenda Dziedzic, Raising Butterflies in the Garden

    Heather Hom, Pollinators of Native Plants

    National Wildlife Federation https://www.nwf.org/NativePlantFinder/Plants

    Xerces Society https://www.xerces.org/