I am still waiting to see my first Monarch butterfly of the year, but was nonetheless excited to spot this similar-looking Viceroy butterfly (Limenitis archippus) recently at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The butterfly was looking a bit tattered, but its flight abilities seemed unaffected. Every year I am shocked anew at the ability of butterflies to function with significant wing damage.
The Monarchs and Viceroys have the same orange and black coloration, though the Viceroy is a bit smaller in size. The main visual difference between the two species is the black line across the Viceroy’s hind wings that is not present in Monarchs.
This is a modest little shot of this butterfly, but I really like the curve of the vegetation that is serving as a perch and the wonderful shadow that the butterfly is casting onto that vegetation.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Very nice Mike!
There is a distinct lack of Butterfly so far this year. It would be nice if it was just an anomaly.
There is some variation annually–I hope that the decrease in butterflies is not related to climate change, in which case the change might be permanent.
Very nice capture, Mike. I have to look up the difference between Viceroy and Monarch every time I photograph one. Sad to report I haven’t seen but one or two of either this summer, and photographed none.
Thanks, Ellen. I have seen quite a few Eastern Tiger Swallowtails and some other swallowtails too, but I am still looking for my first Monarch.
I have seen some black and yellow swallowtails with tattered wings like that. The black ones seems to bleach out in the summer sun and end up looking charcoal color. This is in North Carolina.