The goal of every butterfly garden should be to attract as many different species as possible. This is done through adding a vareity of host plants that different species of butterflies will seek out to lay eggs on. Each species of butterfly has a host plant or plants that their caterpillars feed on before forming a chrysallis. Butterflies are not the only insect to have host plants. But, they are probably the only insects that gardeners go out of their way to attract.

Once different species begin appearing in a butterfly garden, the fun part is identifying them and getting excited when new ones make their debut. Some butterflies can be tricky to identify due to their similarities in color and overall appearance. A good example of this is shown among the "Royal Court" of butterflies - Monarch (Danaus plexippus), Queen (Danaus gilippus), Soldier aka Tropical Queen (Danaus eresimus), and Viceroy (Limenitis archippus) butterflies. Let's go over the differences that will help you to positively identify each of these species.

The Monarch

I'll begin with the Monarch since it is the most common butterflies that gardeners and enthusiasts seek to attract. Monarch butterflies stand out with their brilliant orange and black color with small white spots bordering the wings. Most people who see orange and black colored butterflies will automatically assume it is a Monarch purely based on the popularity of the butterfly.

The dorsal view of a Monarch's wings (term used for the view from the back or posterior) show the richest color of orange with the black color bordering the edges of the wings. The black color doesn't stop there. Each wing has black veins that originate at the body and then travel laterally to the wing edge in the forewing and vertically in the hindwing when. Within the black borders are several white spots that almost completely encircle the wing. The exceptions being the areas between the forewing and hindwing, the borders of each wing and the body, and the tops of the forewing near the body.

The ventral view of a Monarch's wings (the term used for the view from the underside or belly side or anterior) shows the underside as a paler mirror image of the dorsal view. The orange is pale almost on the verge of white. The black and white spots remain unchanged in comparison to the dorsal side. The ventral view also reveals that the thorax (body) of the Monarch is black and covered in white spots.

Before moving on, I would like to add that female and male monarch butterflies can be identified by their wings. If you look at the dorsal view above you will notice that the black veins appear thin and there is a noticeable black "dot" on each hindwing. The female Monarchs will have thicker veins in comparison and do not have the black dot on there hindwings.

The Queen

Next we will talk about the Queen Butterfly. In my Central Florida garden, the Queen is the most common Monarch look-alike. I would expect that to be true for most butterfly gardens. This is because Monarchs and Queens both host on milkweed. Since most gardeners are planting milkweed for Monarchs, they end up attracting Queens as well.

Queen butterflies appear very similar to Monarchs at first glance. But once you look a little closer, it is easy to distinguish the two. As you can tell in the picture above Queens do not have prominent black veins in the dorsal view of the forewings or hindwings as Monarchs do. Also, the white spots appear in both the black borders and in the orange areas. Monarch's white spots only exist in the black borders.

In the ventral view, black veins are now prominent but are outlined ever so slightly with white. Monarch's veins do not have a white border. We again see white spots outside of the black wing borders. Similar to the Monarch, the thorax is covered in white spots.

To tell apart male and female Queen butterflies easily, we again look for the presence of a black circle on the hindwings.

The Soldier

Soldier Butterflies are also known as the Tropical Queen Butterfly. This name makes since considering Soldiers are actually more similar to Queens than they are Monarchs. Their native range is, as the name suggests, in more tropical areas.

Like the Queen, the dorsal view shows less prominant black veins, black borders, and white spots. The ventral view is the easiest view to see distinguishing color changes. The orange color of Soldiers is less vibrant than Monarchs and Queen's. I would describe it as more of a rust color as brown seems to dominate the orange.

The difference in orange is not the only difference. To tell Soldier Butterflies apart from Monarchs, use the same criteria as you would for Queens. To easily tell Soldiers apart from Queens, you must look at the white spots on the forewing on the dorsal side. Looking at the picture of the Queen, you will notice that the Queen butterflies have white spots near the apex of the forewing that also extend down towards the thorax. In Soldier Butterflies, white spots on the dorsal side are exclusively near the apex of the wing. See the picture above.

In the ventral view, Soldiers have a band of blotchy spots on the hindwing that resemble faded white spots. Queens do not have these spots. Nor do Monarchs or Viceroys. In the picture below, you can see that drastic color difference of a rusty, brown color as well as the blotchy spots.

Soldiers host on milkweed just like the Monarch and Queen. The last trick to distinguishing Soldier Butterflies is geographical location. The native range extends no further north than Southern Florida. Although rare sightings as far north as Orlando have occurred, they are rare. For me in Seminole County, the chances of seeing a Soldier Butterfly are next to zero.

The Viceroy

The last butterfly on the Royal Court is the Viceroy. This butterfly is the most Monarch look-alike out of all the others. Viceroys have the same vibrant orange with thick black veins in the dorsal view. White spots appear inside a black border around the wings. In the ventral view, the orange becomes a pale orange with visible black veins. The thorax is covered in white spots. So far all these characteristics are the same as a Monarch.

Let's circle back to the veins. In both the dorsal and ventral views we can see the black veins in both the forewing and hindwing. When looking at the hindwing of a Viceroy, we see a black vein running laterally through the vertical veins. The Monarch does not have this lateral vein. All the veins on a Monarch's hindwing are vertical.

This distinction is not always very obvious. Especially if the butterfly is midflight. The picture above shows this lateral vein to be very faint. In other cases, it will be prominent and easily identified. Fortunately, there is a difference in host plants that can help us. Monarchs will host on milkweeds but Viceroys host on willows. In Florida, common hosts are the Weeping Willow and the Carolina Willow. If a butterfly is hosting on milkweed, it must be a Monarch instead of a Viceroy. After ruling out the Queen and Soldier, of course.

Let's add in a bonus butterfly species that I didn't originally mention in the beginning. I feel like it is worth adding the Gulf Fritillary into the look-alike mix. For one, it is an orange and white butterfly that may be easy for a novice to mistake as a Monarch. Secondly, Gulf Fritillaries are way more commonly seen (in my opinion) than the Monarch, Queen, Soldier, and Viceroy butterflies. At least that seems to be the case in and around Seminole County. Regardless, here it is.

The Gulf Fritillary

The Gulf Fritillary is an orange winged and orange bodied butterfly. In the dorsal view the wings have a light orange than can sometimes be pale orange. It does not have black borders like the Royal Court butterflies do. Black veins extend vertically down the forewing but are less prominant than the fore mentioned. Dull black spots, false orange spots (basically black areas that make the regular orange of the wing appear to be a spot), and white spots with black borders can be seen.

Unlike the Royal Court butterflies, the Gulf Fritillary has an orange body instead of black. Instead of white spots on the body, it has white stripes. Seeing an orange body is likely to be the easiest way to remember the difference. Don't let the wings distract you, especially midflight. The ventral side of the wings have large white spots throughtout the forewings and hindwings. None of the Royal Court butterflies have white spots like this. See the picture below.

The last distinguishing characteristic of the Gulf Fritillary is the host plant. It does not host on milkweed nor willows. Instead, it hosts on different species of Passionvine. The Florida native Corkeystem Passionvine is, in my opinion, the favorite among Gulf Fritillaries.

I know that was a lot of information all at once. But, I hoped it helped. If you still need some help telling them apart. Check out the picture below for side-by-side comparisons.