Danaus chrysippus aegyptius - African monarch

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Danaus chrysippus
Danaus chrysippus

Photo(s): Left: Bart Wursten, nr Eggardon Hill, Vumba; right: David Gwynne-Evans, Mt Mabu, Mozambique

Species details:

Notes: It can store the poison from its foodplants in Asclepiadaceae in its body and is hence inedible to predators. Other species of butterflies, e.g. females of Papilio dardanus, have evolved to look very much like Danaus chrysippus (Batesian mimicry).
Distribution: Common throughout southern Africa.
Related plant families:
Related plant genera:
Apocynaceae subfamilies Asclepiadoideae and SecamonoideaeCeropegia (Food plant)
Apocynaceae subfamilies Asclepiadoideae and SecamonoideaeHuernia (Food plant)
Related plant species:
Apocynaceae subfamilies Asclepiadoideae and SecamonoideaeGomphocarpus fruticosus subsp. fruticosus (Food plant)
Apocynaceae subfamilies Asclepiadoideae and SecamonoideaePergularia daemia subsp. daemia (Food plant)
Literature: Henning, G.A., Pringle, E.L.L. & Ball, J.B. (1994), Pennington's Butterflies of Southern Africa, Struik Winchester, Cape Town, p. 47.
Woodhall, S. (2005), Field guide to Butterflies of South Africa, Struik Publishers, Cape Town, p. 36.

Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave, 2014-25

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2025). Flora of Caprivi: Lepidoptera - Butterflies and Moths: Danaus chrysippus aegyptius.
https://www.capriviflora.com/speciesdata/insect-display.php?insect_species_id=400140, retrieved 19 February 2025

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