Zebra Longwing Butterfly

Top 10 Most Beautiful Butterflies in the World

Among insects, one of the animals most loved by all for its beauty is the butterfly. Let’s discover the most beautiful and particular butterflies in the world, some of which are truly unique.

Top 10 Most Beautiful Butterflies in the World

Butterflies are among the most beautiful animals in the common imagination. Insects are vast universe animals of all kinds, very different from each other, belong to this huge class. Among these butterflies have always been one of the symbols of beauty.

And butterflies are one of the most diverse and beautiful insects in the world. The large group of butterflies includes over 250,000 species.

And last but not least, the fascinating butterflies also indicate that the ecosystem they live in is healthy.

1. Menelaus Blue Morpho

Most Beautiful Butterflies

The blue morph is one of the largest butterflies in the world with a wingspan of 13-15cm. They are found mainly in the tropical forests of South and Central America.

These butterflies are easily recognized by their vivid blue wings with black edges; the wings of the males appear brighter and more beautiful than those of the females.

The underside of the blue morph’s wings is brown with a number of white dots. The backs of the wings also help the blue morph to blend in, so they can hide from potential predators such as lizards, frogs, and birds.

Blue morpho butterflies spend most of their time in the lower shrubs of tropical forests but become visible in all sections of the forest during the mating season.

These beautiful butterflies also release a strong odor from their glands when threatened by other animals. They feed mainly on the leaves of various plants, fungi, and decaying fruits.

2. Zebra Longwing Butterfly

The butterfly Heliconius charithonia (whose English name translates to “long-winged zebra butterfly”) was declared in 1996 the official butterfly of Florida, in the United States.

As the name suggests, the butterfly has narrow, low wings, with zebra stripes: its wings are black with yellow stripes.

The top and bottom of the wings of this butterfly have the same pattern, but the color of the underside of the wing is much lighter than that of the top. These animals, among the most beautiful butterflies in the world, are distributed throughout South and Central America and have a wingspan that varies between 72 and 100 mm.

The Heliconius charithonia are the only butterflies that like to feed on pollen. Scientists believed that pollen nutrients help these long-lived insects live longer than other butterfly species, but they also like to eat leaves and nectar.

In addition, these butterflies make a creaking sound when threatening, and at night they stand together in groups on tree branches.

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3. Peacock Pansy

Peacock Pansy

Junonia almana butterflies are recognized by their striking eye-shaped spots. These fascinating butterflies are native to the countries of South Asia, the upper part of their wings is yellowish-brown with brown edges.

There are also distinct rib bars and attractive ” peacock eyes ” on the wings. The “eyes” on the underside of the wings become more prominent and beautiful.

The motifs on the underside of the Junonia almana wing change with the seasons. Unlike the dry season, in the rainy season, brighter combinations and spots are formed on the wings.

Compared to the top, the rib bars on the edges of the underside of the wings look dull and less beautiful.

It takes 3-5 days for Junonia almana to hatch. The leaves of the host plant become the main food of the caterpillars, and it takes another 5-6 days to develop as a butterfly from the pupa.

As an adult, this butterfly has a wingspan between 54 and 62 mm. They mainly prefer to live in gardens and open areas.

4. Anna’s Eighty-Eight

Apollo Butterfly
Image Source: Image by Wikimedia Commons

The beautiful Diaethria anna is native to South and Central America. In English it is called “butterfly eighty-eight”, taking its name from the black and white stripes on the bottom of their wings, which form the number “eighty-eight”.

The same numbering can be found in 12 different diaethria butterfly species, but the coloration and pattern differ slightly between species.

The upper part of the wings of this butterfly are black, and bands of blue and green also appear on their wings, while the lower part of the wings has beautiful black markings, on a white and red background. The thickness and brightness of the black markings also vary between the different species of the diaethria anna.

The “eighty-eight butterflies” are found in small and large groups, depending on the circumstances. Active butterflies are also found in human dwellings.

They also like to rest on rock walls and soils rich in minerals, they lay their eggs on the leaves of plants of the genus Trema.

The larvae also feed on the leaves of the host plant. This adult butterfly has a wingspan of 35-40mm and feeds mainly on rotten fruit.

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5. Caligo Eurilochus

Apollo Butterfly

The fascinating “giant forest owl butterflies”, as Caligo Eurilochus are called, are famous for their huge, eye-like spots on the underside of their wings.

They are members of the “owl butterfly” family and are native to South and Central America. These large butterflies have a wingspan of between 13 and 16 centimeters, and the huge eye pattern on their wings seems to resemble the eyes of many predators.

These “eyes” help butterflies to escape from potential predators such as lizards or frogs and to threaten other small animals. The upper wings of these butterflies are yellowish-brown, with purple edges.

The caligo eurilochus fly even up to a few meters, for a short time; they usually fly through forest or agricultural fields in the evening. Owl butterflies feed mainly on fruit and have a lifespan of between 125 and 150 days.

6. Chorinea Sylphina

Chorinea Sylphina

Butterflies Chorinea sylphina , beautiful and transparent, are distributed between Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia.

The transparent inner part of the wings of these butterflies is lined with black outer stripes. Their attractive tail reflects the fusion of shades of green, blue, and pink.

They spend most of their time under the leaves of plants and fly only in full sun. They live among the cloud forest at high altitudes.

Chorinea sylphina loves to fly and forage for food alone, but on clear days they can also be found in groups of tens to hundreds of butterflies, under plant leaves.

They also migrate up to distances of 320 km during the spring season, in search of flowers rich in nectar.

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7. Apollo Butterfly

Apollo Butterfly

The Apollo butterfly is easily recognized by its beautiful white body with “eyes” on its wings. The front wings of the Apollo butterflies have a number of black dots and the rear wings are also decorated with four striking red “eyes”.

They are found in some specific areas in Italy, Spain, and France. The size and brightness of the red dots on the wings of Apollo butterflies also vary depending on the area they belong to.

Apollo butterflies are also one of the most endangered butterfly species in Europe.

In addition to beauty, Apollo butterflies are known for their defensive strategy. In the form of larvae, the apollo butterfly has a deep dark color, and they use camouflage using color.

Adult butterflies cannot use the camouflage technique, due to their striking red eyes. But they produce a bad smell to threaten predators.

8. Glasswing Butterfly

Glasswing Butterfly

As its name indicates, this butterfly has transparent wings. It is found in Mexico and Colombia, and its transparent wings make it difficult for predators such as birds and reptiles to catch.

Indeed the reddish-brown border on its wings itself makes them visible, but still not very easy to notice. The large glass-winged butterflies also migrate over a long distance, as far as Florida.

They feed mainly on common flowers, called lantana.

9. Papilio Palinurus

Papilio Palinurus

The Papilio palinurus (called in English “Emerald dovetail”) is a member of the great family of swallowtail butterflies. There are 550 different species of swallowtail butterflies in the world.

This emerald green butterfly, in addition to being one of the most beautiful butterflies, is also one of the most colorful and largest butterflies in the world.

It is found mainly in Southeast Asia. The fascinating papilio palinurus has bright green banded wings, and the structural coloration on the wings also has blue and yellow highlights.

The underside of its emerald wings is black and orange, with numerous blue spots also on the edges of the underside of the wings.

10. Orange Oakleaf

Kallima inachus

The so-called “dead leaf butterfly” (Kallima inachus), native to tropical forests throughout Asia, is an outstanding example of incredible animal camouflage.

The underside of its wings is dark and brown, and the irregular patterns and veins on its wings are reminiscent of a dead leaf.

Unlike the underside, the top of this butterfly’s wings can have a large number of bright colors including blue, brown, white, and orange.

The resemblance of their wings to dead or fallen leaves helps them hide easily from potential predators. They never fly too much, or too fast; they usually rest in one place for a long time, from which they then look for food. Kallima inachus only move out of position when they feel threatened.

The same camouflage tactic helps dead leaf butterflies to settle in one place for a long time. The nectar of flowers and fallen fruits are the main elements of the diet of these butterflies.

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