At first glance this butterfly may look like a monarch butterfly to a casual observer. This is actually a photo of a queen butterfly. The queen butterfly is found in the south United States, Mexico, Central and South America. It is in the same brush-foot family as the monarch, which is common through out most of North America. The queen caterpillar feeds on milkweed just like the monarch so that it to is toxic to most predators that might try and eat it. This photo was taken in the gardens of the Edinburg Scenic Wetland in south Texas.
