FINALLY

[joann0811]

On my way home from Annapolis, I was roadside shopping for milkweed along Rt. 2 and saw my 1st Monarch in MD. It was a lone male on the milkweed. After he flew off I collected a few cuttings.

I was at home going through what I collected when I spotted another Monarch on my butterfly plant, after watching him (yes another male) for a few minutes I spotted the third of the day. It was a female! After taking a couple photos, I returned to checking my leaves for eggs and cats (5 eggs collected and one cat; not sure if it's a monarch). Anyway, the wait is finally over. I'll be keeping a closer eye on my milkweed in the hopes of finding eggs/cats there.

[texas butterfly]

I think the only other butterfly that hosts on milkweed is the Queen.
I'm in Houston, Texas area and 1/3 of my last eggs collected were Queens.

Queens look very similiar but have a 3rd set of filaments. The things that look like antennas.

The coloration on the Queen is similar but different. The cats seemed to look darker than the more yellow Monarch.

[Mona Miller]

You said that they look darker. That's interesting. I have some caterpillars that look very dark. I'll have to make sure I keep an eye on them.

In Maryland and Virginia, we rarely get Queens. Many butterflies visit the milkweeds if they are in bloom. It is a great nectar source. The female Monarchs can be seen touching the leaves before they lay eggs. She has barbs on her legs which can sense the chemicals in the plant. Then, she will lay her eggs. 95% of the time it is on the underside of the leaves. Other places are on the buds of the blooms and about 1% of the time on the top of the leaf (not a good idea, that top leaf laying doesn't keep the egg safe or glued very well).

[texas butterfly]

Initially the Queens looked darker, but then are obviously Queens due to the 3rd set of filaments.

But, I'd have to describe darker as a quick way to know that something was up and they weren't Monarchs.

I didn't have time to look at all of them in magnifying glass, but after a few days the 3rd filament becomes more obvious.

Just an observation that the Queens looked darker. They seem to have more black. But, still cool looking.