Code

Open wings: Their background is orange, without veins covered in scales, so orange colour is rather prominent. The forewings apex is black with large white spots, and there are black margins and one row of white dots on the hindwings. The hindwings margin is black with one row of white dots. The body is black with white dots.

Closed wings: Their design is similar to the above one, but the orange colour is fainter, and the apex is orange instead of black. Wings veins are covered in white scale, and have several black spots in the middle of the hindwings.

Similar species

Monarch: It is bigger. With open or closed wings, and it has less orange colour on it, as its veins are black. The apex on the forewings does not have large white spots, while the outer margins of both, hind and forewings, have two row of white dots.

Biology and Habitat

In Málaga, the only colony we know for is the one that lived in Marbella from 2009 to 2010, and this very year in December as caterpillars. Before and after that, the species was not present in the province.

The only place where it was seen is the same where the biggest Monarch's colony exist. This is a river bed, which is dry almost all year long, and has plenty of bloodflowers (Asclepias curassavica), which are host plants for their caterpillars.

Distribution in the Great Path

They have not been seen on the GMP. As these are migratory butterflies, they can create new colonies at the places they disappeared from, so they might be seen along stage 30.

It is greatly important to send any information about spotting the species on or away from the GMP to the author of this guide.