The African Monarch!
Danaus chrysippus, also known as the plain tiger or African queen, is a medium-sized butterfly widespread in Asia, Australia and Africa. It belongs to the Danainae subfamily of the brush-footed butterfly family Nymphalidae.
These beautiful orange, black and white medium sized butterflies start their life as brightly coloured caterpillars, which mostly feed on toxic plants such as milkweeds. The caterpillars absorb the toxic compounds from their food plants, making them distasteful to predators. Bright colour contrasts in larva and adult insects, such as black, yellow, red, orange, and white, are used to warn predators that the insect is toxic, distasteful or dangerous, thus protecting the species. This type of colouration is known as Aposematic colouration.
D. chrysippus is a medium-sized butterfly with a wingspan of about 7-8 cm (2.8-3.1 in). The body is black with many white spots. The wings are orange, the upper-side brighter and richer than the underside. The apical half of the forewing is black with a white band. The hindwing has three black spots in the centre. The wings are bordered in black and outlined with semicircular white spots.
Photographed on a late evening bird walk at African Sunrise Lodge, Manyara, Tanzania.
The African Monarch!
Danaus chrysippus, also known as the plain tiger or African queen, is a medium-sized butterfly widespread in Asia, Australia and Africa. It belongs to the Danainae subfamily of the brush-footed butterfly family Nymphalidae.
These beautiful orange, black and white medium sized butterflies start their life as brightly coloured caterpillars, which mostly feed on toxic plants such as milkweeds. The caterpillars absorb the toxic compounds from their food plants, making them distasteful to predators. Bright colour contrasts in larva and adult insects, such as black, yellow, red, orange, and white, are used to warn predators that the insect is toxic, distasteful or dangerous, thus protecting the species. This type of colouration is known as Aposematic colouration.
D. chrysippus is a medium-sized butterfly with a wingspan of about 7-8 cm (2.8-3.1 in). The body is black with many white spots. The wings are orange, the upper-side brighter and richer than the underside. The apical half of the forewing is black with a white band. The hindwing has three black spots in the centre. The wings are bordered in black and outlined with semicircular white spots.
Photographed on a late evening bird walk at African Sunrise Lodge, Manyara, Tanzania.