Viceroy (butterfly)

Its wings feature an orange and black pattern, and over most of its range it is a Müllerian mimic[4] with the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus). The viceroy's wingspan is between 53 and 81 mm (2.1 and 3.2 in).[5] It can be distinguished from the monarch by its smaller size and the postmedian black line that runs across the veins on the hindwing.[5]

In Florida, Georgia, and the American Southwest, viceroys share the pattern of the queen (Danaus gilippus) and in Mexico they share the pattern of the soldier (Danaus eresimus). In all three areas, the local Danaus population mimic the coloration of the viceroy species. It was originally believed that the viceroy was a Batesian mimic of the three other species, and presumed edible or only mildly unpalatable to predators, but this has since proven not to be true.[4] In an experiment with both the monarch's and viceroy's wings removed, birds were discovered to think the viceroy was just as unpalatable as the monarchs.[4]

The viceroy ranges through most of the contiguous United States as well as parts of Canada and Mexico. The westernmost portion of its range extends from the Northwest Territories along the eastern edges of the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada mountains, southward into central Mexico. Its easternmost range extends along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of North America from Nova Scotia into Texas.[6] It has been possibly extirpated from California.[1]

The caterpillar feeds on trees in the willow family Salicaceae, including willows (Salix), and poplars and cottonwoods (Populus). The caterpillars sequester the salicylic acid in their bodies, which makes them bitter, and upsets predators' stomachs. As further protection, the caterpillars, as well as their chrysalis stage, resemble bird droppings.[7]

Adults are strictly diurnal, flying preferentially in the late morning and early afternoon.[8] Adult viceroys nectar on milkweeds, thistles, and other common flowers.[7]

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  Adult
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  Caterpillar
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  Pupa

Limenitis butterfly wing patterns are much more diverse in the Nearctic realm (North America) than in the Palearctic (Eurasia and North Africa). Three lineages of mimetic butterflies occur in North America and the evolution of mimicry may have played a large role in the diversification of this group.[9] For butterflies to travel from the Palearctic region to the Nearctic region of the world, the migration must have occurred during a time period when Beringia, the land bridge between Euorasia and North America, was still above water.[10] Based on crude divergence rate calculations,[11] the colonization of the Nearctic Leminitis dates back approximately four million years.[9] Whether the migration event was a single or multiple occurrence event has a significant effect on how we look at the evolution of mimicry. A history of multiple migrations would suggest that speciation occurred before the evolution of mimicry, meaning mimicry was the result of speciation instead of the driver of speciation.

However, much evidence supports that a single event colonization is the best explanation. One theory of Nearctic colonization states that the reason for the colonization was a larva host plant shift. The position of the poplar admiral (L. populi), a Palearctic species, in a phylogenetic tree confirms that the poplar is the closest existing relative of the Nearctic taxa and is consistent with the theory that the host plant had a large effect on the evolution of North American admirals. Just like the wing-pattern of the Palearctic butterflies has little evidence of divergence, the host plant use of these species also shows no sign of divergence. These species only feed on different species of honeysuckle (Lonicera ssp.) The exception is the poplar that feeds exclusively on aspen (Populus tremulus of the willow family).[9] All North American Limenitis feed on members of the willow family as well, suggesting that an (ancestral host plant shift) expansion of a novel host plant across the Bering land bridge could have driven the colonization of the Nearctic. Species level phylogenies based on the mitochondrial gene COI and the gene EFI-α of Nearctic and Palearctic species also indicate a single colonization of the Nearctic species.[9] The phylogenies produced indicate that a white-banded ancestor similar to the species L. arthemis[12] established itself in North America and resulted in several major lineages, three of which involved mimicry independently of each other. Given the present monophyly of the Nearctic species, it is likely that a single migration and subsequent expansion of the population was the foundation of the Nearctic butterflies.

Color warnings in viceroy butterflies have been shaped by natural selection in an evolutionary relationship between prey and predator.[13] The viceroy's main predators – like many other butterflies – consist mostly of birds.

Batesian mimicry

The viceroy's wing color ranges from tawny orange (resembling monarchs) in the north to dark mahogany (resembling queens) in the south.[14] It has been argued that selective pressures from predators have given rise to "model switching"[14] in the viceroy, with each subspecies being selected to copy the color pattern of the locally dominant Danaine subspecies. When the monarch's breeding range overlaps with the viceroy, the viceroy will adopt the lighter shades of orange. Towards the south, the viceroy mostly displayed darker orange phenotypes in response to the larger population of queens. It is important to note that the differences between these two morphs is only the color of the wings and the line drawn through the viceroy's lower wings; other features, such as body size and wing-pattern elements, are identical.[14]

It had been long accepted that the viceroy practiced Batesian mimicry, with the monarch and the queen serving as models. Batesian mimicry is a type of defensive behavior in which a palatable species closely resembles unpalatable or toxic species to avoid predation.

Early experiments suggested that the viceroys use Batesian mimicry to defend themselves against predators. In these experiments, birds that had not been exposed to monarchs willingly ate viceroys, but those that had tasted the unpalatable monarch refused to touch the mimic.[15] In addition, when given the choice between a mimic and non-mimic after being exposed to an unpalatable model, avian predators never ate the viceroy mimic.[16]

Monarch (left) and viceroy (right) butterflies exhibiting Müllerian mimicry

Based on phylogenic evidence, it is known that mimicry in the North American admirals was a driver of speciation. An essential condition for the evolution of mimicry was the presence and abundance of unpalatable models. Mimetic evolution also involved direct selection with the model acting as a "starting block" for the mimic to evolve against.[19] The drive behind this type of evolution must be predation. Eventually, the mimetic population undergoes phenotypic fixation, usually at a point where the wing pattern and colors of the mimic have reached the closest superficial resemblance of its model.[19] As these processes continued, the subspecies divergences began occurring as the mimetic species expanded their geographical range and began mimicking other species of butterfly. Determining what part of the butterfly genome controls wing color and pattern is also a major component that must be taken into account when trying to understand the evolution of mimicry. Each individual stripe or spot on a wing has a distinct identity that can be traced from species to species within a family.[20]

A fascinating feature of pattern genetics is that the dramatic phenotypic changes are primarily due to small changes in the gene that determines the sizes and positions of pattern elements.[20] This discovery is in accord with the principal theory for the evolution of mimicry. The theory proposes that initial mimicry is achieved by a single mutation that has a large effect on the phenotype, which immediately gives the organism some protection, and is then refined by so-called modifier genes with lesser phenotypic effects.[20] Consequently, if the genes for wing pattern and color were normal functioning genes, a single mating would produce several phenotypically different offspring, making the ability for mimicry to evolve very difficult.

This unique puzzle led to proposal of a possible supergene. A supergene is a tight cluster of loci that facilitate the co-segregation of adaptive variation, providing integrated control of complex adaptive phenotypes.[21] Different genomic rearrangements have tightened the genetic linkage between different color and pattern loci with complete suppression of recombination in experimental crosses in a 400,000 base section containing at least 18 genes.[21] This single supergene locus controls differences in a complex phenotype like wing coloration that can involve modifications of wing pattern, shape, and body color. Mimetic patterns have high fitness correlated to locally abundant wing patterns and low fitness when the offspring have recombinant, non-mimetic phenotypes.[21] This tight-linked area of wing pattern genes explains how mimetic phenotypes are not broken up during recombination during sexual reproduction.

Viceroys display geographic color polymorphism, which occurs when the viceroy butterflies are observed having different color forms in different regions of their territory. Color polymorphism is hypothesized to be affected by interaction between the viceroy, monarch and queen's overlapping environments. In the northern areas of their region, where monarchs predominate, viceroys are lighter, while in southern Florida, they are darker due to queens being more abundant than monarchs.[22]

• Glassberg, Jeffrey Butterflies through Binoculars, The West (2001)
• Guppy, Crispin S. and Shepard, Jon H. Butterflies of British Columbia (2001)
• James, David G. and Nunnallee, David Life Histories of Cascadia Butterflies (2011)
• Pelham, Jonathan Catalogue of the Butterflies of the United States and Canada (2008)
• Pyle, Robert Michael The Butterflies of Cascadia (2002)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Limenitis archippus.

Wikispecies has information related to Limenitis archippus.

• Description of Viceroy on Butterflies and Moths website
• viceroy butterfly on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site
• Viceroy, Butterflies of Canada