Striated Queen

Danaus gilippus strigosus (Bates)

Lepidoptera: Danaidae

Photos copyright: Peter J. Bryant (pjbryant@uci.edu).
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Characteristics: In general appearance, like Danaus plexippus, but usually smaller in size. Veins on dorsal hindwing pale, not heavily edged with black as in plexippus.

Distribution: Sporadic records from many low elevation localities in the county.

Flight Period. April to November (Emmel and Emmel, 1973). We have one Orange County record for January, although captures are generally during the autumn months .

Larval Foodplants: Sarcostemma hirtellum, S. cynanchoides (milkweeds).

Other Remarks: Theodore Hower mentions seeing strigosus occasionally along Santiago Creek and in his yard. The Striated Queen appears to be a fairly frequent stray in Orange County. The species may also occasionally breed in the county, using S. cynanchoides spp. hartwegii (a known foodplant), which grows in open places in the Orange County chaparral (Boughey, 1968). However, in California the species is more typically found in the desert regions.
 
From Orsak, L. J. (1977). The Butterflies of Orange County, California. Center for Pathobiology Miscellaneous Publication #3. University of California Press, New York. 349pp.

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