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Butterflies are harmless. No American Lepidoptera is known to be poisonous to man. I am familiar with the Monarch, Red Admiral and other types. they are harmless and beautiful insects not pesky (Bugs). The Monarch butterfly is poisonous to some animals. The poisons in their bodies is very distasteful to many predators. The viceroy and monarch were once thought to exhibit Batesian mimicry where a harmless species mimics a toxic species. Studies conducted in the early 1990's suggest that the viceroy and the monarch are actually examples of Mullerian mimicry where two equally toxic species mimic each other to the benefit of each. Just goes to show you there's always something new to discover in the natural world!
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∙ 15y ago
Wiki User
∙ 10y agothe monarch butterfly is bad tasting. the viceroy butterfly mimics the appearance of the monarch butterfly to trick predators into thinking that they are Monarch Butterflies , hence avoiding being eaten.
mimicking other organisms to fool predators is known as MIMICRYWiki User
∙ 11y agocommensalism
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How does the viceroy butterfly not benefit from eating milkweed?
The viceroy butterfly does not eat milkweed, it is a mimic of the monarch butterfly which does eat milkweed. The milkweed makes the monarch butterfly toxic to birds. Once a bird eats its first monarch butterfly it gets so sick that it learns to never try to eat anything that looks like a monarch butterfly ever again. The viceroy butterfly has evolved to mimic the monarch butterfly to avoid being eaten by birds that have previously tried eating a monarch butterfly.
What butterflies are yellow and look like a monarch?
The Viceroy Butterfly looks almost identical to the monarch butterfly, and that makes the viceroy a mimic. Birds know that monarchs are not good to eat, so the viceroy avoids being eaten by looking like the monarch. The queen butterfly, the painted lady and others are sometimes mistaken for monarch butterflies.
Is a butterfly harmful?
The Viceroy is a poisonous butterfly, just like the Monarch. The confusion about the Viceroy toxicity comes from 19th century ideas about mimicry. Unfortunately, entymologists failed to test the theory until 1991. Even today many text books erroneously discuss the Viceroy as non-toxic. The Monarch was early identified as poisonous and entymologists immediately assumed the Viceroy was not. However, after testing, the Viceroy Butterfly is at least at toxic as the Monarch. The question is - which is the immitation? The Viceroy Butterfly is almost indistinguishable from the Monarch Butterfly.
Does this combination of adaptations make every monarch butterfly safe from birds?
No. Since new birds are hatched every year, the young ones won't know that monarchs taste so bad. Also, the viceroy butterfly looks like a monarch. Birds eat it and it tastes good. So if that bird sees a monarch it thinks is a viceroy butterfly, it'll eat it.
Do you capitalize Monarch Butterfly or Monarch butterfly?
monarch butterfly
What is Viceroy Butterfly?
the viceroy butterfly is a butterfly that mimics the monarch butterfly
What are the difference between monarch butterfly and viceroy butterfly?
Butterflies and dragonflies both have wings used for flying. However the wings of a butterfly are much larger than dragonfly wings.
How does the red wing black bird get along with the viceroy butterfly?
The red winged blackbird eats insects, including butterflies. Because the viceroy mimics the pattern of the poisonous monarch, it avoids predation from the blackbird.
What is an example of minicry?
The monarch butterfly eats milkweed and is so bitter to the taste as a result that birds avoid it. The viceroy butter fly mimics the monarch (looks like it) and receives the same protection.
How does the viceroy butterfly not benefit from eating milkweed?
The viceroy butterfly does not eat milkweed, it is a mimic of the monarch butterfly which does eat milkweed. The milkweed makes the monarch butterfly toxic to birds. Once a bird eats its first monarch butterfly it gets so sick that it learns to never try to eat anything that looks like a monarch butterfly ever again. The viceroy butterfly has evolved to mimic the monarch butterfly to avoid being eaten by birds that have previously tried eating a monarch butterfly.
How might the viceroy's colors affect monarch butterflies?
The Viceroy mimics the Monarch for a special reason. The Monarch is poisonous, and so by the Viceroy acting like it's poisonous, predators avoid it. There is one difference though, the Viceroy has a black line running across his lower hind-wings. no^ the color of the viceroy is close to the monarchs and so at mating season it can affect them
What butterfly mimics the monarch butterfly?
The Vicerey butterfly is very similar to the Monarch but is smaller and has an extra curved line on the bottom wings. Vicorey butterflies are popular because of their mimicry.Monarch butterflies eat milk weed so when a preditor eats it it poisons the preditor.So when preditors see the Vicorey, they don't eat it.
What is the relationship between the viceroy and monarch butterfly?
The relationship is called Batesian comimicry. Both butterflies are distasteful,so they mimic each others' patterns for mutual protection. A common misconception is that only the monarch is poisonous and the viceroy mimics it to gain protection even though it is non-poisonous. This is not true though, as studies in the 1980s proved that the viceroy is poisonous as well.
How do you use mimicry in a sentence?
The Viceroy Butterfly uses clever mimicry of the Monarch Butterfly to deter predators.
How might The Viceroys Colours Affect Monarch Butterflies?
The Viceroy's colors mimic those of the Monarch butterfly. They do this to protect themselves against predators. Predators know that Monarch Butterflies do not taste good, so they avoid them, and therefore will also avoid the Viceroy.
What butterflies are yellow and look like a monarch?
The Viceroy Butterfly looks almost identical to the monarch butterfly, and that makes the viceroy a mimic. Birds know that monarchs are not good to eat, so the viceroy avoids being eaten by looking like the monarch. The queen butterfly, the painted lady and others are sometimes mistaken for monarch butterflies.
What butterfly name that starts with v?
A butterfly with a name starting with the letter v is the Viceroy butterfly. It resembles the Monarch butterfly but i has a black line that crosses its wings.
