Danaus gilippus in Massachusetts

[Michael Gochfeld]

A Queen in Massachusetts certainly sounds like a stray. We did not find
any Queen records for NJ when we did our book. Nor did I think that it
even occurred as far north as Virginia.  However, after two warm
winters, it is possible that it overwintered further north than usual
(usually not much north of Florida), hence provided a nucleus for
straying northward.  We've heard of some unusually early northern
records of Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus) this year, so maybe it
foretells a pattern.
 
M. Gochfeld