Danaini

Tiger and Crow Butterflies, Tiger butterflies

Genus Guides

Danaus(tiger milkweed butterflies)
Lycorea(tropical milkweed butterfly)

Danaini is a tribe of brush-footed butterflies within the Danainae. The tribe includes approximately 300 across multiple subtribes, most notably Danaina (containing the monarch butterfly Danaus plexippus and related tiger butterflies) and Euploeina (containing crow butterflies and tree nymphs). Members are characterized by reduced forelegs, bright aposematic coloration, and associations with plants containing defensive compounds. The tribe lacks a fixed colloquial name, though 'tiger butterflies' is occasionally applied to subtribe Danaina.

Danaus plexippus by (c) Christine Young, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Christine Young. Used under a CC-BY license.

Danaus plexippus by (c) Jon Sullivan, some rights reserved (CC BY). Used under a CC-BY license.

Danaini by (c) Roger Rittmaster, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Roger Rittmaster. Used under a CC-BY license.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Danaini: /dæˈneɪˌnaɪ/

These audio files are automatically generated. While they are not always 100% accurate, they are a good starting point.

Images

Behavior

Males of most Danaini engage in PA-pharmacophagy, a in which they scratch at wounded leaves of plants containing (PAs) and suck up the released liquids, or regurgitate saliva onto dry plant tissue to extract PAs. These compounds are used to synthesize for . The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is an exception: males do not use PAs for pheromone production, though both sexes have been observed gathering PAs from plants such as boneset (Eupatorium serotinum). The adaptive significance of PA gathering in monarchs remains poorly understood.

Human Relevance

The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), a member of this tribe, is among the most widely recognized butterflies in North America and serves as a flagship for conservation. The tribe's pharmacophagy has become the focus of citizen-science initiatives such as Monarch Rx to document understudied aspects of monarch natural history.

More Details

Subtribal Classification

Danaini contains four recognized subtribes: Danaina (including Danaus, Amauris, Ideopsis, Parantica, Tirumala, and Tiradelphe), Euploeina (including Euploea, Idea, Lycorea, Anetia, and Protoploea), Amaurina (sometimes merged with Danaina), and Itunina. Subtribe Danaina is occasionally referred to as 'tiger butterflies' in reference to the striped patterns of many .

Sex Chromosome Evolution

Danaini exhibit complex evolution. The Danaus neo-sex chromosome, formed by fusion of the Z with an , arose in the common ancestor of subtribes Danaina, Amaurina, and Euploeina. Additional independent fusions have occurred in Ideopsis similis and Lycorea halia. The autosomes involved in these fusions are enriched for sex-biased genes, suggesting sexual antagonism may drive sex chromosome turnover in this group.