Characteristics
 The viceroy butterfly is dark orange with black veins. A row of white spots edge its wings. Its color and pattern mimics
the monarch butterfly's pattern except for a black horizontal stripe that crosses
the bottom of its back wings. The viceroy caterpillar is white and
olive-brown.
Range
The viceroy can be found in most of the continental United States and in southern Canada and northern Mexico.
Habitat
The viceroy butterfly lives in meadows, marshes and swamps and other wet areas with willow, aspen and poplar trees.
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Diet
The viceroy caterpillar eats the leaves
of willow and poplar trees.
Life Cycle
 The viceroy mates in the afternoon. The female lays her eggs on the tips of the leaves of poplars and willows. There are usually two or three generations of viceroys born each breeding season.
Behavior
 The
viceroy and monarch were once thought to exhibit Batesian mimicry where a harmless species mimics a toxic species. Studies conducted
in the early 1990's suggest that the viceroy and the monarch are actually
examples of Mullerian mimicry where two equally toxic species mimic
each other to the benefit of each. Just goes to show you there's always
something new to discover in the natural world!
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