{"id":5485,"date":"2011-03-09T11:36:42","date_gmt":"2011-03-09T16:36:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/wildwire\/?p=5485"},"modified":"2022-02-07T10:09:56","modified_gmt":"2022-02-07T15:09:56","slug":"monarchs-and-mimics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/this-just-in\/monarchs-and-mimics\/","title":{"rendered":"Monarchs and Mimics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Can you tell which one of these two butterflies<\/a> is a Monarch (Danaaus plexippus<\/em>) and which one is a Viceroy (Limenitis archippus<\/em>)? This is a tricky question because one of these butterflies is a mimic!<\/p>\n

\"monach
Photo credit: Noah Cole<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n

\"viceroy
Photo credit: Noah Cole<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mimics are creatures that copy another species<\/a>, they often take on disguises as a way to hide from predators. Monarch butterflies<\/a> are poisonous to many animals because of the milkweed plant that they eat, many scientists believe this is why the Viceroy copies their toxic friend\u2019s look. By mimicking<\/a> (or looking like) the Monarch the Viceroy is\u00a0 sending a warning sign to animals, like a hungry bird, saying \u2018hey don\u2019t eat me I may be poisonous’.\u00a0 With all of this confusion how do you tell these butterflies apart?\u00a0 If you look closely, at the photos, you will see that the Viceroy butterfly has a black horizontal bar on its hind wings <\/a>while the Monarch butterfly doesn\u2019t. (If you are still stumped the first photo is of the Monarch the second is the Viceroy). You can also tell these lookalikes apart by their flying styles; while the Viceroy holds their wings flat the Monarch keeps their wings<\/a> in a V shape above their body.<\/p>\n

Try showing these images to your friends and family and see if they can tell the difference between a Monarch and a Viceroy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.eol.org\/pages\/159832<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.eol.org\/pages\/2682739<\/a><\/p>\n

Earth Rangers<\/a> is a non-profit organization that works to inspire and educate<\/a> children about the environment. At EarthRangers.com kids can play games<\/a>, discover amazing facts<\/a>, meet animal ambassadors<\/a> and fundraise<\/a> to protect biodiversity<\/a>.<\/em><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Can you tell which butterfly is a Monarch and which one is a Viceroy? Check out these photos and put your ‘identify the butterfly’ skills to the test.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[402,1353,931],"tags":[240,343,115,226],"class_list":["post-5485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-this-just-in","category-to-edit","category-all","tag-butterfly","tag-camouflage","tag-colour","tag-flight"],"pp_force_visibility":null,"pp_subpost_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_force_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_subpost_visibility":null,"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t