unidentified Mexican butterfly Jan. 2010
January 24, 2010
Thank you for the ID of the Many Banded Daggerwing. This smaller, orange, black and white beauty was in the same area on the Mexican Yucatan peninsula. I am hoping you can tell me more.
fparker
Mexico Yucatan area

Silver Emperor

Hi again fparker,
Before we clicked and enlarged your photo, we thought it might be a California Sister, but clearly it is not, nor is it a Lorquin’s Admiral which it also resembles.  Your butterfly is a Silver Emperor, Doxocopa laure, and we believe it is a male, though your photo does not show the bright blue irridescence when the light strikes the wings at the correct angle.  The North American Butterfly Association of North Texas has a nice page on this species.  According to BugGuide, the species is “Sexually dimorphic upperwing patterns. Females have a diagonal white slash across both wings, and a yellow spot near the forewing apex; extremely similar to female Pavon Emperor but this species has a broader white stripe with a rounded tip. Male has a stripe across its upperwings but is white only on hindwings, turns yellow on forwings. Underwing pattern is similar to upperwing but less distinct and with a grayish or silvery cast overall.”  BugGuide also indicates:  “Adults visit rotting and overripe fruit, sap, animal dung, and carrion. Larvae feed on foliage of hackberries and sugarberries.”  Thanks for contributing another new species to our website.

December 20, 2009
Attached is a video frame-grab of a milkweed butterfly that we encountered on a hike along the Tenaru River, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.  The location was about midway between the coast and Tenaru Falls and was videotaped on November 10, 2009.   This is about the best I can do to sharpen the video frame as the butterfly was moving the entire time.  None of the frames with its wings open are any good – way too blurry.
Thanks for your help with the identification of this butterfly as well as the Papilio aegeus and the Callidula sp. moth, all of which were videotaped on the same trail heading up the river to the falls.
Bruce Carlson, Atlanta
Solomon Islands, Tenaru River, Guadalcanal

Blue Tiger

Hi again Bruce,
Thanks for taking the trouble to provide us with a better image.  This is one of the Milkweed Butterflies from the subfamily Danainae which includes the Monarch.  It is Tirumala hamata, the Blue Tiger and the Brisbane Insects website has numerous nice images.  The blue coloration of newly emerged adults fades with time, and your specimen is probably nearing the end of its life.  The Lepidoptera Butterflyhouse website also has images of the caterpillar and chrysalis.

Australian Stamp

The Blue Tiger Butterfly has appeared on several stamps, including one from Australia and one from Samoa.

Samoan Stamp

milkweed butterfly wings open
Sorry that this image isn’t great but it’s the best I could pull out of the video clip.  Thanks for help with the identification.
Bruce

Blue Tiger Butterfly

Can’t find identification for these two insects.
December 8, 2009
I recently visited Iguazu, Argentina (month of November) and got great shots of some insects. Two in particular are intrigueing to me, and yet they are not listed in the Argentine field guide that I bought. Can you help?
sincerely
Iguazu Argentina

Glasswing Butterfly

Dear sincerely,
The image of the butterfly is a Glasswing in the subfamily Ithomiinae.  We found a close match in the species Oleria paula, the Thick-rimmed Clearwing Butterfly, but according to the page that pictures it from Clemson Museum, it flies from Mexico to Panama.  The website indicates:  “The Glasswing butterflies have evolved large clear patches on their wings which help camouflage them while they are flying from one flower to another or while they are perched on a plant. Predators that are looking for lunch may not recognize the Glasswing as a butterfly because their transparent wings break up their outline. Glasswing butterflies feed on nectar from aster flowers. This particular flower is important to their reproduction because male Glasswings obtain a chemical from these flowers that they use in producing their pheromones, chemical scents they use to attract mates.“  Your butterfly is probably in the same genus, but our initial search did not provide an exact species in Argentina.  The other insect is an immature Katydid.

black butterfly with blue spot
November 27, 2009
This is a butterfly specimen I got from my teacher. From the upper view, the bigger front wing is black in colour with some blue spot at the edge. However, with the black wing may appear to be purple blue in colour with the correct light reflection and the colour is shiny. The smaller wing at behind is dull in colour.
The lower view of this butterfly is black in colour with blue spot at the edge.
Kit
Malaysia, tropical rain forest

Crow Butterfly

Hi again Kit,
Again, the Butterflies of Malaysia led us to believe this was one of the Crow Butterflies, and though we found another website with lots of species, we could not find an exact match, but we do believe the genus Euploea is correct.

Comment from Karl
Hi Kit:
I agree that the genus is Euploea, which includes a number of similar looking species. The closest match I could find is Euploea eunice leucogonis, the Blue Branded King Crow. You can go to http://www.sgbug.org/butterflies/spc_info.php?spc_id=374 for a comparison (click on the image for a closer look). Regards.
Karl

Butterfly Identification
November 18, 2009
Do you know what type of butterfly/moth this is? I took this picture in Ecuador
doesnt matter
Ecuador, south america

Morpho Butterfly

Dear doesnt matter,
This is a Morpho Butterfly, but we are uncertain of the exact species.  Since we have a book to finish, we cannot spend the time trying to get an exact species.  Perhaps Karl will come to our assistance.

Hi Daniel:
I would say this is a this Helenor Morpho (Morph helenor). There are a number of sub-species, some of which look quite different – my inclination is to go with M. helenor helenor. It occurs throughout the Amazon basin. It’s a very nice photo. In my experience, Morphos don’t pose very often and when they do they usually don’t spread their wings so nicely. Regards.
Karl

Beautiful Blue Butterfly
October 7, 2009
Hello Bugman,
Today I was rummaging about my garden shed when this gorgeous specimen decided to join me. He landed on the window sill that is too far above my head for me to get a shot of the full spread wings. I was just wondering if you knew what sort of species this was, as I have not seen a photo on your site. It’s wingspan was approximately five or six inches. I tried to get closer, but then it flew away.
It is very rare that I see these brilliant blue butterflies in my area. It’s a real treat on a cloudy day.
Bella
Northwest Indiana

Morpho peleides: In Indiana???

Dear Bella,
This is a tropical butterfly from Mexico (and Costa Rica and south to the rain forests of South America) in the genus Morpho, probably Morpho peleides, a common denizen of butterfly pavilions that have become so popular in zoos, botanical gardens and museums in recent years.  There is a photo of Morpho peleides posted to the Butterfly House of Missouri Botanical Gardens website.  Wikipedia also has a page on the species.  We can only theorize on how this tropical species came to alight in your garden shed.  Perhaps it is a fugitive from a Butterfly Pavilion.  Perhaps you have a secret admirer who purchased a butterfly pupa and left it in your shed so that you would be transfixed by this wondrous display of romantic interest.  Perhaps you (or we) are the victim of a hoax.  This butterfly looks like it might be dead.  We wonder if perhaps you were mistaken when you saw it land on the window sill and then fly away.

Wow, Mexico? Perhaps I am thinking of another blue butterfly I’ve seen around my parts before.
However, I assure you he was alive. I’d like to think he escaped from butterfly jail and he is now en route to be reunited with his loved ones.
Though that romantic gesture sure would be nice.
Thanks for the info!

If you have seen other large blue butterflies, we would think the Pipevine Swallowtail, Female Diana Fritillary, and Red Spotted Purple to be the most likely candidates, though none are as iridescent as the Morpho.  The Great Purple Hairstreak, though iridescent, is much smaller.

Update from Eric Eaton
Daniel:
I’m much more curious as to why Morpho butterflies are turning up in Bella’s shed in Indiana!
Eric