Danaus chrysippus aegyptius - African monarch

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Danaus chrysippus
Danaus chrysippus

Photo(s): Left: Bart Wursten, nr Eggardon Hill, Vumba; right: David Gwynne-Evans, Mt Mabu, Mozambique

Species details:

Note: It can store the poison from its foodplants in Asclepiadaceae in its body and is hence inedible to predators. Other species of butterflies, e.g. females of Papilio dardanus, have evolved to look very much like Danaus chrysippus (Batesian mimicry).
Distribution: Common throughout southern Africa.
Related plant families:
Related plant genera:
Apocynaceae subfamilies Asclepiadoideae and SecamonoideaeCeropegia (Food plant)
Related plant species:
Literature: Henning, G.A., Pringle, E.L.L. & Ball, J.B. (1994), Pennington's Butterflies of Southern Africa, Struik Winchester, Cape Town, p. 47.
Woodhall, S. (2005), Field guide to Butterflies of South Africa, Struik Publishers, Cape Town, p. 36.



Flora of the Democratic Republic of Congo: Lepidoptera - Butterflies and Moths: Danaus chrysippus aegyptius.
https://www.drcongoflora.com/speciesdata/insect-display.php?insect_species_id=400140, retrieved 7 October 2024

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