On April 28, 2022 my daughter and I spotted our first queen caterpillar eating a milkweed after almost three years of starting our butterfly garden. Our excitement was through the roof. We have brought home a queen caterpillar from our favorite native garden nursery in the past and raised it in our butterfly house to a butterfly. But . . . seeing it in our garden was truly special.

The queen butterfly’s scientific name is danaus gilippus.

The queen male butterfly also has two dots on its hindwings wings, which also contain pheromone. According to the University of South Florida the pheromone, called danaidone, is stored in the wing patches of the male. In addition, the male has bristly structures called hair pencils on its abdomen, which are applied to the female antennae.

The queen also uses milkweed as a host plant, therefore consuming its toxins to keep predators away. Those toxins remain once the butterfly hatches.

The queen caterpillar is almost identical to that of a monarch with the exception of the third set of filaments in the middle of its body, which act as a sensory organ allowing the caterpillars to see through touch. It will grow up to 1.8″. The butterfly will lay eggs throughout the year.

The queen is commonly found in central and southern Florida and during the summer and fall it will migrate and colonize along the northern coast. Their habitats are mostly uplands and wetlands and with the right host plants in your garden.