How to Attract and Identify a Queen Butterfly 

Queen butterflies have monarch-like underwings with white outlines on black hindwing veins and dark borders with white dots.   

To distinguish a queen butterfly from a monarch, check its forewings. Monarchs have black inner and outer hindwing lines, whereas queens do not.  

I saw this queen butterfly emerge from its chrysalis. Birds & Blooms reader Loradel Herringshaw says it matches her yellow hibiscus perfectly.  

Find these gorgeous brownish-orange butterflies in meadows, deserts, roadsides, and pastures with flowers in the sun.   

While visiting the Mojave Desert with my spouse, I observed this gorgeous queen butterfly on a bush.   

Nectar flowers like fogfruit and shepherd's needle are drunk by adults. It's unclear why several queens sleep on the same plant overnight.  

Janet Christensen says our butterfly population is best when our Mexican sunflower blooms, especially the queens.  

It can be as difficult to differentiate caterpillars as butterflies, however queens have three protuberances and monarchs have two.  

Got Holes in Your Leafy Greens? You Have Cabbage Worms 

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