Danaus

Pollination

All species of Danaus are pollinators, however it is not on purpose. Like other butterfly species, Danaus forage nectar from plants. While foraging for nectar on plants, pollen grains may stick onto different parts of the butterfly, such as the proboscis, head, thorax, legs and wings. This allows transfer of pollen from one plant to another, allowing pollination to occur.

Pollination can be species-specific, as foraging of nectar can require specific nutrients from plants. Danaus pollinate many different plant families, however, most commonly found to pollinate Asteraceae. Other plant families Danaus also visit are Fabaceae, Cleomaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Lamiaceae, Malvaceae and Zygophyllaceae. However, these are more species specific compared to that of Asteraceae.

They are important pollinators to many species of plants, for example, Danaus chrysippus is a significant pollinator for Helianthus debilis due to longer foraging times compared to that of other pollinators. This is significant as longer contact shows a better pollination quality.

Conservation

Conservation of Danaus have been established in plant nurseries to ensure the increase of species population. Such as planting milkweed plant species (Asclepias) along migratory paths of Danaus butterflies. For all Danaus species, conservation is understanding the lifecycle, this is to ensure the essential resources needed egg, larval and adult stages. Targeting plants that are essential to Danaus species and re-establishing them in habitats has shown to have a positive impact to Danaus. Such as planting host plants for eggs to be laid and for larvae to feed on.

Taxonomy

Following the review of Smith et al. (2005), 12 species are provisionally accepted based on morphological, mtDNA 12S rRNA and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, and nuclear DNA 18S rRNA and EF1 subunit α sequence data:

This genus was formerly split into the subgenera Danaus, Salatura, and Anosia, but this arrangement has been abolished. While the first (the 2–3 monarch butterflies) and Salatura (species ismare, genutia, affinis, and melanippus) do indeed seem to be clades, the relationship of these to the other species, especially the puzzling D. dorippus, is not clear.

Hybridization producing fertile offspring is known to occur between some species, confounding mtDNA data; this seems to be especially true in the case of D. dorippus (Smith et al. 2005). In addition, male-killing Spiroplasma infection has been shown in D. chrysippus and probably also occurs in other species (Jiggins et al. 2000); the consequences for speciation and evolution are probably similar to those observed in infection with male-killing strains of the better-researched Wolbachia bacteria.

Phylogeny

Phylogeny of the genus (without D. cleophile).

Synonyms of Danaus species and subspecies

Source: The higher classification of Nymphalidae, at Nymphalidae.net

Note: Names preceded by an equal sign ( = ) are synonyms, homonyms, rejected names, or invalid names. Synonymy, given below in abbreviated form, is from Ackery & Vane-Wright (1984).

Tribe Danaini Boisduval, 1833

Danaus Kluk, 1802 ( = Danaida Latreille, 1804; = Limnas Hübner, 1806; = Danais Latreille, 1807; = Danaus Latreille, 1809; = Anosia Hübner, 1816; = Festivus Crotch, 1872; = Salatura Moore, 1880; = Nasuma Moore, 1883; = Tasitia Moore, 1883; = Danaomorpha Kremky, 1925; = Panlymnas Bryk, 1937; = Diogas d'Almeida, 1938)

Danaus cleophile (Godart, 1819) ( original name = Danais cleophile Godart, 1819)

Danaus plexippus (Linnaeus, 1758) ( original name = Papilio plexippus Linnaeus, 1758; = misippiformis Meuschen, 1781; = archippus Fabricius, 1793; = menippe Hübner, 1816; = megalippe Hübner, 1826; = leucogyne Butler, 1884; = fumosus Hulstaert, 1886; = pulchra Strecker, 1900; = nigrippus Haensch, 1909; = americanus Gunder, 1927; = nivosus Gunder, 1927; = curassavicae Fabricius, 1938; = portoriciensis Clark, 1941; = tobagi Clark, 1941; = disjuncta Dufrane, 1948; = bipunctata Dufrane, 1948; = obliterata Dufrane, 1948)

Danaus erippus (Cramer, 1775) ( original name = Papilio erippus Cramer, 1775 ( = larensis Köhler, 1929; = asclepiadis Fabricius, 1938)

Danaus ismare (Cramer, 1780) ( original name = Papilio ismare Cramer, 1780; = ismareola Butler, 1866; = fulvus Ribbe, 1890; = celebensis Rothschild, 1892; = felicia Fruhstorfer, 1907; = goramica Fruhstorfer, 1907; = alba Morishita, 1981)

Danaus genutia (Cramer, 1779) ( original name = Papilio genutia Cramer, 1779; = adnana Swinhoe, 1917; = albipars Talbot, 1943; = alexis Waterhouse & Lyell, 1914; = bandjira Martin, 1911; = bimana Martin, 1911; = connectens Moulton, 1921; = conspicua Butler, 1866; = grynion Fruhstorfer, 1907; = intensa Moore, 1883; = intermedia Moore, 1883; = kyllene Fruhstorfer, 1910; = laratensis Butler, 1883; = leucoglene Felder & Felder, 1865; = niasicus Fruhstorfer, 1899; = nipalensis Moore, 1877; = partita Fruhstorfer, 1897; = plexippus auctt. nec Linnaeus, 1758; = sumatrana Moore, 1883; = sumbana Talbot, 1943; = telmissus Fruhstorfer, 1910; = tuak Pryer & Cator, 1894; = tychius Fruhstorfer, 1910; = uniens Martin, 1911; = wetterensis Fruhstorfer, 1899; = yuchingkini Murayama & Shimonoya, 1960 (hybrid chrysippus x genutia, Kurosawa, 1973)