Danaus petilia

Danaus petilia (Stoll, 1790)
Lesser Wanderer
DANAINAE, NYMPHALIDAE, PAPILIONOIDEA

Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Danaus petilia
(Photo: courtesy of Jutta Godwin, Cubberla-Witton Catchments Network, Brisbane, Queensland)

This species was probably named after the Ancient Greek city of Petilia.

(Photo: courtesy of Jutta Godwin, Cubberla-Witton Catchments Network, Brisbane, Queensland)

The Caterpillar of this species is banded with black and yellow, and has yellow spots all over. It also has three pairs of filaments which in later instars have red bases.

The caterpillar feeds on various plants that have a poisonous milky sap. The caterpillar appears to retain the poisons in its body making it unpalatable to predators.

(Dried and blown specimen: courtesy of the The Australian Museum)

In Australia, its foods are all from the Milkweed family (APOCYNACEAE), and include :

Blood Flower ( Asclepias curassavica ),

Balloon Plant ( Asclepias physocarpa ),

Bush Potato ( Brachystelma glabriflorum ),

Common Milkweed ( Calotropis gigantea ),

Rubber Bush ( Calotropis procera ),

Mangrove Milkweed ( Cynanchum carnosum ),

Swan Plant ( Gomphocarpus fruticosus ),

Bush Banana ( Marsdenia australis ), and

Milkweed Vine ( Oxystelma esculentum ).

The Caterpillar grows to a length of about 3 cms.

(Photo: courtesy of Martin Purvis, Ingleburn, New South Wales)

The pupa hangs by its tail from a leaf of the foodplant, and has a length of about 1.5 cms. In life, it is greenish-brown with a golden ring around the thorax. The skin turns brown once the butterfly has left the pupa.

(Photo: courtesy of Martin Purvis, Ingleburn, New South Wales)

The adult butterflies are orange with wide black borders around the wings, and a variable number of white spots in the black tips of the forewings. The head is black with white spots, and the thorax black with a white dorsal line. The abdomen is brown. The butterflies only have four legs.

Female
(Specimen: courtesy of the The Australian Museum)

The male has a more prominent black markings near the centre of each hind wing. The undersides are similar to the upper surfaces. The wingspan is about 6 cms.