Queen Butterfly vs Scarlet-Bodied Pergid Sawfly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Queen Butterfly Scarlet-Bodied Pergid Sawfly
Scientific Name Danaus gilippus Perga kirbyi
Order Lepidoptera Hymenoptera
Family Nymphalidae Pergidae
Size 67-78 mm wingspan 16-24 mm
Habitat Deserts & Drylands Woodlands
Diet Herbivores Herbivores
Regions Southern USA, Central and South America Australia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Queen Butterfly

A close relative of the Monarch butterfly with similar orange coloring but darker. Found across the Americas. Like the Monarch, it sequesters toxic cardenolides from milkweed.

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Did You Know?

A close cousin of the Monarch that is equally toxic but does not undertake the same famous migration.

Scarlet-Bodied Pergid Sawfly

A large, robustly built Australian sawfly with a bright scarlet to red-orange abdomen and dark head and thorax. Its spitfire larvae feed on eucalyptus in tight clusters.

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Did You Know?

Adult females demonstrate rare parental care for an insect by guarding their egg batch and early-instar larvae on the eucalyptus leaf.