I'm confused ... as usual :)

I just posted another Queen cat in BugFiles and noticed it does not look the same as the previous Queen cats I entered.
Is it truly a Queen cat?

This is the previous Queen cat I entered. Is it truly a Queen?

This message was edited Jul 26, 2006 7:52 AM

Maybe none of my pics are Queens but are Monarchs?
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/monarch/LarvaeIDQueenQuiz.html

Vicki I think they look similar at stages but I have never seen a Queen cat so I can't say for sure. I will see what info I can find later this evening

Vee8ch,I'm pretty sure those two are Monarch's(2set of black filaments)
The Queen although similar has 3 sets of filaments (antenna).
Don

I have a picture of a queen cat that I was going to add, but I didn't know all of the answers as far as family and such. Here's my cat

And the chrysalis to go with it

Those are really close to the monarch. I think the queen cat has more black and white and less yellow, no? Karen

I'm only going on the fact that when I had this cat ID'd last year, I was told it was a Queen. Also, the post above states the difference between a Monarch and a Queen, being the sets of antenna. I personally did not know that. If my pics are of a Queen, let me know someone :)

Here's the butterfly that came from all of this..

Thanks so much Donna and Don.
Don the 3 sets thing on the link is what really caught my attention. I thought I had my pictures figured out a long time agao. Sooooo many sites show the Monarch cat as the Queen. Funny thing is I see lots of Queen Butterflies in my yard and never any Monarchs. edited to say ... maybe I've only seen Monarchs and no Queens lol!

PiggyPoo :) ... If you go to the top of this page and type in Queen Butterfly it will take you to a page where you can click on BugFiles from a drop down search box. It will lead you to Queen where you can add your beautiful Queen cat.

T. Karen , I was thinking less yellow too. But when I did a search it showed some of the same cats with thinner black stripes and fatter yellow stripes.
I have no idea what the more yellow cat is now. Is it a Monarch with alot of yellow or is it a totally different butterfly? .... eeek! lol! :)

This message was edited Jul 26, 2006 12:42 PM

lol we cross posted ..

And this is my Queen

front

Vee8ch..you have dmail

The Monarch has black wing veins above The queen has only black wing veins below.Both males have the black scent patch.The queen doesn't do the massive annual migration.The queen is smaller than the monarch and I think it's a brighter orange.As you can see on PiggyPoo post of the cat it's got the third set of antenna
Don

So...mine IS a Queen, right?

Don, I don't know all of the family, genus name stuff to put into the BugFiles, but if you'd give them to me, I'd be more than pleased to submit my pics. I wanted to do it yesterday :(

I'll do what I can .How many do you have?

Both Monarch and Queen are already in the BugFiles. You will not have to enter anything except your picture(s).

PP hope you don't mind that I used your picture to show our butterflies side by side.
Maybe someone will point out the differences. I can see a larger upper wing on mine but I'm not sure if it is just the way the critter is sitting and camera angle.
And yours might be a slightly different shade of brown ... or is it the sun that makes it look that way?
Still confused.

This message was edited Jul 26, 2006 1:15 PM

Donnnnnnnnnna!!!!!! Ms. Butterfly Lady ..... I hope you can solve my mostly yellow cat and adult Queen or Monarch? frustration :(.
I'm convinced my mostly black striped cat is Monarch.

PP,
Queen,Danaus gilippus Family/Subfamily: Brush-foots (Nymphalidae)/Milkweed Butterflies (Danainae)


Vee,
Queen Larva:Black with transverse cream stripes and yellow spots; body has three pair of long, black filaments.

Monarch Larva: White with transverse black and yellow stripes;There is a pair of long , black filaments on each end.


Vee from over raising 100's of Monarch's I've noticed a real differance between the larva color depending on the milkweed fed to them.The real tough older plants and the real tender young smaller plants render an amazing differance in the color of black's and the yellows.When they get to the fifth instar I've seen a few that were mostly black and some that were mostly yellow or cream color.I believe it's from the amount of moisture and texture of the milkweed,and temp but no real proof.

Thanks bunches! I got my pictures in now :)

Thank you Don. That is very interesting info. I would have never imagined that their food source could make such a difference.
Now .... Is there a difference between PP's butterfly pic and mine? Do I have a Queen or a Monarch?

Way to go PP! :) Yours is the first real Queen cat there :) Just as soon as I can figure out for sure which adult pics I have I'll ask Dave to move my cat pics to Monarch.

12:34 post is Queens the number of white spots do it for me,and the open winged without black veins is the real teller.

Check out my post "cat trades ?"and tell me what you think,Please.

Thank you Mr. Don :) You been a wonderful help to me.

It's a good idea with the Queen or Monarch cats to just go by the number of pairs of feelers until you're really familiar with both. Those two cats at the top of the thread were definitely Monarch cats, from what I can see. Color variations are common on both species. I've even had some Queen cats in the past that were dark with a purplish tinge. Haven't seen any like that lately. Here's one from this year, with the 3 pairs of feelers.

Vicki I believe you have Monarchs in your 2 pics. I only see the 2 sets of antenna. See I learned something new today lol

Oh my gosh, me too Donna!

So...V8 are you still confused? This thread has confused me. I'm confused why everyone else is so confused!! lol

You have Monarch cats. Not Queens. Cat colors vary some probably because of the brood they are born in, the temperature, food source, and even the season. But basic things are still the same. Monarchs have 2 sets of antennae. Queens have 3. That never changes. Queen cats tend to be longer and thinner than the Monarchs too. (at least mine have)

Queen and Monarch butterflies are distinctly different and you can ID them instantly once you see them often. Monarchs f l o a t and g l id e and Queens fly quickly. Monarchs do fly quicker at times, especially when they are chasing another off.

Queen cats are my favorite of all because they are so colorful. The last batch I raised had a lot of blue in them and they were beautiful! The red on their antennae is my favorite too, but they don't always have red, or blue.

I've got lots of pics and would love to be able to put something in the BugFiles but don't have the time to sit and gather it all together so I'm afraid it's going to all be done before I can. I didn't even know about it until a lot had already been done.

This is not the a great pic but you can tell that this batch had a lot of blue. It's an older pic of some that I raised in the fall, which is why I think they are darker.

really cool pics KK. You can always add more pics to the BF

Ms. Konkreteblond ... you always make me laugh ... hee!

Yes guys I am convinced my first 2 cats are Monarch. I'm going to ass-u-me the 3rd has a liver disorder lol!
I see the Queen adults frequently but I've never found one of their cats. I never see a Monarch but their cats are abundant. What does this mean? It means I haven't been paying attention ... duh! :)

Thanks everyone! I seriously appreciate every word and every picture.

Talk about crackin' someone up, Vee LOL Liver disorder? LMBO