Rubidus

The rubidus is a butterfly which can be found in the eastern regions of North America.[1] Despite its distinctive appearance, it is not a true species of butterfly. The rubidus is the offspring of a Viceroy and a white admiral or a red spotted purple,[2] with hybridisation being more common in the latter as the viceroy and red spotted butterfly inhabit more common land.

Rubidus
Illustration of a Rubidus hybrid
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Tribe: Limenitidini
Genus: Limenitis
Species:
L. archippus × L. arthemis

This hybrid can be manufactured in laboratory conditions by facilitating the interbreeding of the two butterfly species, but it can be also found in nature as their range overlaps which can lead to them breeding. It is not known whether the rubidus is fertile or sterile. If it is a fertile hybrid, it can breed with other hybrids and essentially create a new species similarly to the Appalachian tiger swallowtail which initially started as a hybrid between the Eastern tiger swallowtail and the Canadian tiger swallowtail

References
  1. "Rubidus Hybrid (Viceroy and Red-spotted Purple) - Limenitis". bugguide.net.
  2. ""RUBIDUS" Strecker (Hybrid) --Red-Spotted Purple (L. a. astyanax) X Viceroy (L. archippus)-VENTRAL photo - Bob Moul photos at pbase.com". PBase.
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