5 Most Unique And Beautiful Butterflies Species

"Butterflies are nature's angles. They remind us what a gift it is to be alive."

 - by Robyn Nola 

Butterflies are a very wonderful insect, which always grabs our attention toward them. They can be easily found in our greenery environment. They belong to the phylum Arthropoda of order Lepidoptera. There are around 20,000 butterfly species are present in this world. They are of different sizes, shapes, and spectacular pigments or colors which makes them unique from each other. Their average life around 2 weeks. Some species hardly live a day or 2 and other species are capable of living around 9 months. The interesting fact is that their reproduction and survival are depicted by their colors.

Here are the 5 most unique and beautiful butterfly species which are described below and that may benefit you to know more about them.

#1 PEACOCK PANSY 

Mostly found in Cambodia and South Asia. It is listed as the least concern in the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature)Red List.

Scientific Classification

Family: Nymphalidae

Genus: Junonia

Species: J.almana

Binomial Nomenclature: Junonia almanac

Features

The adult butterfly has a 54-62 cm(2.1-2.4 in).

The pattern on the underside of the wings changes chiefly during two distinct adult forms.

The dry- season form has few markings, while the wet- season form has extra eyespots and lines.

Larval stages

The caterpillars of Junonia almanac, food feed on a variety of plants, including Hygrophila auriculata, Phyla nodiflora, and species in the general Acanthus, Barleria, and Gloxinia.

#2 SYPHINA ANGEL

It is found in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. They inhabit the cloud forest species at an altitude between about 2000-3000 m.

Scientific Classification

Family: Riodinidae

Genus: Chorinea

Species: C.sylphnia

Binomial name: Chorinea sylphide

Features

They have a transparent wing reflect in numerous iridescent green, blue, and pink.

The adult usually flies during sunshine, but sometimes settle beneath the leaves of bushes.

Larval Stage

They laid the underside of leaves of the food plant which includes Prionostema (Hippocrataceae) and Maytenus ( Celastraceae).

#3 EMERALD SWALLOWTAIL

It is also known as Emerald peacock or green- banded Peacock. It is native to Southeast Asia due to their unique coloration, people use to keep in their houses regularly around the world. Emerald lives in an Asian primary forest.

Scientific Classification

Family: Papilionidae

Genus: papilio

Binomial Nomenclature: Papilio palinurus

Features

They have a wingspan of about 8-10 cm ( 3.1-3.9in)

Outer side wings are covered by dusky green scales and the background varies from dark greenish to black.

Dusky dark green with a sudden streak of radiation green angled on either side.

Inside are black with orange, white, and blue spots along the edges of hindwings. 

They can take a high-velocity flight.

Larval stage

Caterpillar feeds on plants of the genus Euodia belonging to the Rutaceae family.

#4 GLASSWINGED BUTTERFLY

It is mainly found in the Central and Northern regions of South American as far south as Chile, with the appearance of the north as Mexico and Texas.

Their habitat in the Tropical rainforest in the Central and South American countries.

Scientific Classification

Family: Nymphalidae

Genus: Greta

Species: G.oto

Binomial Nomenclature: Greta oto

Features

The length of the butterflies is 2.8-3.0 cm(1.1-1.2 in). 

Have a wingspan of 5.6-6.1  cm(2.2-2.4 in).

Their bodies are a grimy brown color.

Adult wings with opaque and dark brown borders stained with red or orange with a lack of tiny scales on their wings.

Larval Stage

The caterpillar of this phase has a green color body with bright purple and red lines.

They are found on the host plants of the genus Cestrum.

#5 BLUE MORPHO

Mostly found in South America, Mexico, and Central America. The genus of these butterflies consists of over 29 species and 147 subspecies occur.

Inhabit the primary forests of the Amazon and Atlantic, Morphos are found at altitudes between sea level and about a range of 1,400 m(4,600 ft).

Scientific Classification

Family: Nymphalidae

Genus: Morpho

Tribe: Morphine

Species Type: Morpho achilles 

Features

Morpho wingspan range from 7.5 cm(3.0 in).

The dorsal side of their wings only presents iridescent lamellae, leaving the ventral side down.

The female is a little duller colored partially iridescent, but males have bluer iridescent than females.

Larval Stage

The caterpillar grew with reddish-brown bodies and with a bright-line grown or yellow patches on their back.

They have grown some fine hairs on their skin which can feel irritation on the human body surface.

From their bodies, strong disgust odors come which help them to protect or defense against the predators.

They feed on a variety of plants like Moraceae,  Guttiferal, Canellaceae, etc.