I have three butterflies that are hopefully different than the ones you sent or your other partner sent. The first one is red on the front side and has an 88 on the back. It is called the 2-eyed 88 butterfly.
Diaethria anna, the Anna's eighty-eight, is a butterfly in wet tropical forests in Middle America. On rare occasions, it can be found as a stray in south Texas. Its upperside is dark brown with a metallic bluish-green band on the forewings. The underside of the forewings are red, which is followed by a wide, black band and then white tips; the underside of the hindwings is white, with lines that approximate a black-outlined "88", giving the species its common name.
The caterpillars feed on tropical plants in the families Ulmaceae and Sapindaceae. Adults feed on rotting fruit and dung.
The second butterfly is the malay lacewing. I think this one is really pretty.
Cethosia hypsea, the Malay lacewing, is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family. It is found in from Burma to Indonesia and the Philippines.
The wingspan is about 80 mm.[2] Adults are bright orange red above with broad black borders, warning predators of their toxicity. The underside is orange red with white fasciae and is spotted with black. The wings are scalloped.[3]
The larvae feed on Adenia species. They are wine red and have long spines. They are also poisonous.
The last butterfly is the flamingo leafwing.
Introduction
The tribe Anaeini comprises of 87 neotropical species in the genera Coenophlebia, Consul, Anaea, Polygrapha, Memphis, Siderone, Fountainea and Zaretis. The butterflies are characterised by having a very rapid and strong flight. They have stout bodies, falcate wings, and on the upper surface are generally black, marked with bands of orange, bright red, or lustrous blue according to species. The undersides of all species in the Anaeini are cryptically patterned and bear a strong resemblance to the dead leaves, tree bark or boulders on which they settle.
The genus Fountainea comprises of 8 species, most of which are widely distributed throughout the neotropical region. The hindwings of most species have short tails, in both sexes, although in the males of ryphea and sosippus these are vestigial or absent.
In some races of Fountainea ryphea the males have a beautiful purple sheen across the wings, but this can only be seen from certain angles.
This species occurs in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Trinidad, Colombia, Guyana, Surinam, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru and Bolivia.
Habitats
This species is usually encountered in secondary / disturbed forest habitats e.g. along wide trails, riverbanks and close to habitations. It is found in both deciduous and evergreen forests at altitudes between sea level and about 1000m.
Lifecycle
The eggs are white, and laid singly on the foliage of the foodplants.
The fully grown larva is green, with paler longitudinal lines along the back, and lightly marbled with reddish brown and white along the sides. It has a large head that is adorned with a pair of short horns. The larva lives within a cell made by rolling up a leaf and securing it with fine silk. It feeds on saplings of Croton - a tree in the Euphorbiaceae.
The chrysalis is suspended by the cremaster from a stem or leaf. It is pale greenish, with the wing cases edged in pale yellow. The head and thorax form a barrel shaped section, and the abdominal segments are highly compressed, forming a short cone.
Adult behaviour
The butterflies are usually seen singly, often as the sole Fountainea species amidst a mixed group of Memphis, Doxocopa and Taygetis species that have aggregated to feed at dung or rotting fruit on the forest floor. Males also visit sewage seepages and river beaches to imbibe mineralised water.
The flight and general behaviour is similar to that of other Charaxine genera. They tend to remain settled on foliage or on the ground for long periods. If disturbed they fly up, circle around briefly, and then settle on the foliage of a nearby tree. After a while, they descend cautiously over a period of several minutes, in a series of steps, often settling on leaves that are in dappled sunlight. At such times they often bask with wings half open. Eventually they return to ground level, and sometimes flit about, fanning their wings for a few moments, before closing them. Once settled with wings closed they are confident in the disguise afforded by their "dead-leaf" undersides, and will remain stationary for many minutes.
This tatoo is lots of fun so I included it also.
Although there seem to be very few truly red living butterflies there are many illustrations, animations and such depicting red butterflies.
I was drawn to the delicacy of this one.
It looks as if someone used a real butterfly veins as their model.
This one seemed so sweet.
This next one fascinated me. Look very closely.
I could not get away without posting at least one REAL Butterfly..
Anartia amathea, the brown peacock or scarlet peacock, is a species of nymphalid butterfly, found primarily in South America. The type locality is probably Suriname, and the species is found from Panama to Argentina; Grenada, Barbados and Antigua.
I hope you like the red butterflies that I have chosen for you this month!
The national butterfly of Singapore is the Red Rose butterfly.
Pachliopta aristolochiae, the common rose, is a swallowtail butterfly belonging to the Pachliopta genus, the roses, or red-bodied swallowtails. It is a common butterfly which is extensively distributed across South and Southeast Asia.
It is widely distributed in Asia including Afghanistan, Pakistan, India (including the Andaman Islands), Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Japan (south-western Okinawa only), Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Nicobar Islands, peninsular and eastern Malaysia, Brunei, Philippines (Palawan and Leyte), Indonesia, Bangladesh and Taiwan.
In China, it is distributed in southern and eastern China (including Hainan, Guangdong province) and Hong Kong. In Indonesia, it is distributed in Sumatra, Nias, Enggano, Bangka, Java, Bali, Kangean, Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores, Tanahjampea, and Kalimantan.
It is also recorded from Pune.
It is very common almost all over the plains of India, and is not threatened as a species. During and after the monsoon it is extremely abundant.
The upperside of male is velvety black.
Forewing with well-marked pale adnervular streaks on the discal area that do not reach the terminal margin, the latter broadly velvety black; the streaks beyond end of cell extended inwards into its apex.
Hindwing with elongate white discal markings in interspaces 2–5 beyond the cell.
In dry-weather specimens these markings are very short and do not nearly reach the bases of the interspaces; beyond these a curved series of subterminal lunular markings in interspaces one to seven dull crimson irrorated with black scales, the spot in interspace one large, irregular, diffuse, margined interiorly with white.
On the underside of the males, the ground color and markings is similar, but the red subterminal spots on the hindwing much brighter; it is not irrorated with black scales, better defined, the anterior four subquadrate, the next two crescent shaped, sometimes quadrate also, the spot in interspace one triangular and pointed. Antennae, thorax and abdomen above up to the pre-anal segment black; the head, sides of prothorax above, and of the whole of the thorax and abdomen beneath vermilion red; anal segment vermilion red.
Females are similar to the males; they differ from the male only in the comparatively broader wings and this is most conspicuous in the forewing.
The Postman butterfly is from Ecuador.
Heliconius melpomene, the postman butterfly, common postman or simply postman, is one of the heliconiine butterflies found from Mexico to northern South America. Several species in the genus have very similar markings and are difficult to distinguish. This is an example of mimicry.
The postman butterfly has large long wings with an orange stripe down each forewing. It is poisonous and has red patterns on its wings. They tend to look similar to the species Heliconius erato. Two features found on the underside help to distinguish H. erato from H. melpomene—H. erato has four red dots where the wing attaches to the thorax while H. melpomene has three and the yellowish white stripe on the underside reaches the margin of the hindwing in H. erato but ends before reaching the margin in H. melpomene.
H. m. rosina
There are many morphs of this butterfly throughout Central and South America. The geographical variation in patterns has been studied using linkage mapping and it has been found that the patterns are associated with a small number of genetic loci called genomic "hotspots". Hotspot loci for color patterning have been found homologous between co-mimics H. erato and H. melpomene, strengthening evidence for the parallel evolution between the two species, across morph patterns.[
A recent study, using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) datasets, places the origins of H. melpomene at 2.1 Mya.[8] H. melpomene shows clustering of AFLPs by geography suggesting that the species originated in eastern South America
The distribution of this butterfly is from Central America to Southern Brazil.
The caterpillar feeds on passion flower species. In Central America, the host plants are Passiflora oerstedii and Passiflora menispermifolia. In other places they breed on several other Passiflora species.[9] Larvae of Heliconius charithonia also eat Passiflora, in order to indirectly attract males to females via the chemical signals emitted upon feeding.
The final red butterfly that I will be sharing with you today is the Red Lacewing which is from Australia.
Cethosia biblis, the red lacewing, is a species of heliconiine butterfly belonging to the Nymphalidae family.
Cethosia biblis is medium-sized butterfly, with a wingspan reaching about 8–9 centimetres (3.1–3.5 in). In this species the sexes are dimorphic. In males the dorsal sides of the wings are bright orange red, framed by a black outline with white spots. The undersides range from bright red to pale brown, interlaced by black and white. This astonishing pattern helps to disguise the shape of the butterfly, while the intense color of the dorsal sides of the wings is a warning to predators that the red lacewing has a bad taste, deriving from the poisonous host plants of the caterpillars. The dorsal sides of the wings of the females are greyish-brownish with black spots and white bands and spots on the black margins.
Caterpillars have several reddish, black and white stripes, a black head and long black spikes that contain poison. In fact they mainly feed on poisonous climbing plants, mainly Passiflora species (P. cochinchinensis, P. moluccana, etc.).
This species can be found from the Indian subcontinent eastwards to South-East Asia and East Asia, the eastern limit being the Philippines, and the southern limit being Indonesia.
I hope you enjoyed reading about these red butterflies. See you again next month!
Michelle - you have the kindest heart ever. Thank you so much for sending me the beautiful card you made. It is gorgeous! And what a thoughtful note you wrote inside. I can't thank you enough. Tami
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I have three butterflies that are hopefully different than the ones you sent or your other partner sent. The first one is red on the front side and has an 88 on the back. It is called the 2-eyed 88 butterfly.
Diaethria anna, the Anna's eighty-eight, is a butterfly in wet tropical forests in Middle America. On rare occasions, it can be found as a stray in south Texas. Its upperside is dark brown with a metallic bluish-green band on the forewings. The underside of the forewings are red, which is followed by a wide, black band and then white tips; the underside of the hindwings is white, with lines that approximate a black-outlined "88", giving the species its common name.
The caterpillars feed on tropical plants in the families Ulmaceae and Sapindaceae. Adults feed on rotting fruit and dung.
The second butterfly is the malay lacewing. I think this one is really pretty.
Cethosia hypsea, the Malay lacewing, is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family. It is found in from Burma to Indonesia and the Philippines.
The wingspan is about 80 mm.[2] Adults are bright orange red above with broad black borders, warning predators of their toxicity. The underside is orange red with white fasciae and is spotted with black. The wings are scalloped.[3]
The larvae feed on Adenia species. They are wine red and have long spines. They are also poisonous.
The last butterfly is the flamingo leafwing.
Introduction
The tribe Anaeini comprises of 87 neotropical species in the genera Coenophlebia, Consul, Anaea, Polygrapha, Memphis, Siderone, Fountainea and Zaretis. The butterflies are characterised by having a very rapid and strong flight. They have stout bodies, falcate wings, and on the upper surface are generally black, marked with bands of orange, bright red, or lustrous blue according to species. The undersides of all species in the Anaeini are cryptically patterned and bear a strong resemblance to the dead leaves, tree bark or boulders on which they settle.
The genus Fountainea comprises of 8 species, most of which are widely distributed throughout the neotropical region. The hindwings of most species have short tails, in both sexes, although in the males of ryphea and sosippus these are vestigial or absent.
In some races of Fountainea ryphea the males have a beautiful purple sheen across the wings, but this can only be seen from certain angles.
This species occurs in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Trinidad, Colombia, Guyana, Surinam, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru and Bolivia.
Habitats
This species is usually encountered in secondary / disturbed forest habitats e.g. along wide trails, riverbanks and close to habitations. It is found in both deciduous and evergreen forests at altitudes between sea level and about 1000m.
Lifecycle
The eggs are white, and laid singly on the foliage of the foodplants.
The fully grown larva is green, with paler longitudinal lines along the back, and lightly marbled with reddish brown and white along the sides. It has a large head that is adorned with a pair of short horns. The larva lives within a cell made by rolling up a leaf and securing it with fine silk. It feeds on saplings of Croton - a tree in the Euphorbiaceae.
The chrysalis is suspended by the cremaster from a stem or leaf. It is pale greenish, with the wing cases edged in pale yellow. The head and thorax form a barrel shaped section, and the abdominal segments are highly compressed, forming a short cone.
Adult behaviour
The butterflies are usually seen singly, often as the sole Fountainea species amidst a mixed group of Memphis, Doxocopa and Taygetis species that have aggregated to feed at dung or rotting fruit on the forest floor. Males also visit sewage seepages and river beaches to imbibe mineralised water.
The flight and general behaviour is similar to that of other Charaxine genera. They tend to remain settled on foliage or on the ground for long periods. If disturbed they fly up, circle around briefly, and then settle on the foliage of a nearby tree. After a while, they descend cautiously over a period of several minutes, in a series of steps, often settling on leaves that are in dappled sunlight. At such times they often bask with wings half open. Eventually they return to ground level, and sometimes flit about, fanning their wings for a few moments, before closing them. Once settled with wings closed they are confident in the disguise afforded by their "dead-leaf" undersides, and will remain stationary for many minutes. This tatoo is lots of fun so I included it also.
BL ~ Butterfly Color Series, #1 (Red)
Although there seem to be very few truly red living butterflies there are many illustrations, animations and such depicting red butterflies.
I was drawn to the delicacy of this one.
It looks as if someone used a real butterfly veins as their model.
This one seemed so sweet.
This next one fascinated me. Look very closely.
I could not get away without posting at least one REAL Butterfly..
Anartia amathea, the brown peacock or scarlet peacock, is a species of nymphalid butterfly, found primarily in South America. The type locality is probably Suriname, and the species is found from Panama to Argentina; Grenada, Barbados and Antigua.
Hope you enjoy this.
BL ~ Butterfly Color Series, #1 (Red)
I hope you like the red butterflies that I have chosen for you this month!
The national butterfly of Singapore is the Red Rose butterfly.
Pachliopta aristolochiae, the common rose, is a swallowtail butterfly belonging to the Pachliopta genus, the roses, or red-bodied swallowtails. It is a common butterfly which is extensively distributed across South and Southeast Asia.
It is widely distributed in Asia including Afghanistan, Pakistan, India (including the Andaman Islands), Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Japan (south-western Okinawa only), Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Nicobar Islands, peninsular and eastern Malaysia, Brunei, Philippines (Palawan and Leyte), Indonesia, Bangladesh and Taiwan.
In China, it is distributed in southern and eastern China (including Hainan, Guangdong province) and Hong Kong. In Indonesia, it is distributed in Sumatra, Nias, Enggano, Bangka, Java, Bali, Kangean, Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores, Tanahjampea, and Kalimantan.
It is also recorded from Pune.
It is very common almost all over the plains of India, and is not threatened as a species. During and after the monsoon it is extremely abundant.
The upperside of male is velvety black.
Forewing with well-marked pale adnervular streaks on the discal area that do not reach the terminal margin, the latter broadly velvety black; the streaks beyond end of cell extended inwards into its apex.
Hindwing with elongate white discal markings in interspaces 2–5 beyond the cell.
In dry-weather specimens these markings are very short and do not nearly reach the bases of the interspaces; beyond these a curved series of subterminal lunular markings in interspaces one to seven dull crimson irrorated with black scales, the spot in interspace one large, irregular, diffuse, margined interiorly with white.
On the underside of the males, the ground color and markings is similar, but the red subterminal spots on the hindwing much brighter; it is not irrorated with black scales, better defined, the anterior four subquadrate, the next two crescent shaped, sometimes quadrate also, the spot in interspace one triangular and pointed. Antennae, thorax and abdomen above up to the pre-anal segment black; the head, sides of prothorax above, and of the whole of the thorax and abdomen beneath vermilion red; anal segment vermilion red.
Females are similar to the males; they differ from the male only in the comparatively broader wings and this is most conspicuous in the forewing.
The Postman butterfly is from Ecuador.
Heliconius melpomene, the postman butterfly, common postman or simply postman, is one of the heliconiine butterflies found from Mexico to northern South America. Several species in the genus have very similar markings and are difficult to distinguish. This is an example of mimicry.
The postman butterfly has large long wings with an orange stripe down each forewing. It is poisonous and has red patterns on its wings. They tend to look similar to the species Heliconius erato. Two features found on the underside help to distinguish H. erato from H. melpomene—H. erato has four red dots where the wing attaches to the thorax while H. melpomene has three and the yellowish white stripe on the underside reaches the margin of the hindwing in H. erato but ends before reaching the margin in H. melpomene.
H. m. rosina
There are many morphs of this butterfly throughout Central and South America. The geographical variation in patterns has been studied using linkage mapping and it has been found that the patterns are associated with a small number of genetic loci called genomic "hotspots". Hotspot loci for color patterning have been found homologous between co-mimics H. erato and H. melpomene, strengthening evidence for the parallel evolution between the two species, across morph patterns.[
A recent study, using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) datasets, places the origins of H. melpomene at 2.1 Mya.[8] H. melpomene shows clustering of AFLPs by geography suggesting that the species originated in eastern South America
The distribution of this butterfly is from Central America to Southern Brazil.
The caterpillar feeds on passion flower species. In Central America, the host plants are Passiflora oerstedii and Passiflora menispermifolia. In other places they breed on several other Passiflora species.[9] Larvae of Heliconius charithonia also eat Passiflora, in order to indirectly attract males to females via the chemical signals emitted upon feeding.
The final red butterfly that I will be sharing with you today is the Red Lacewing which is from Australia.
Cethosia biblis, the red lacewing, is a species of heliconiine butterfly belonging to the Nymphalidae family.
Cethosia biblis is medium-sized butterfly, with a wingspan reaching about 8–9 centimetres (3.1–3.5 in). In this species the sexes are dimorphic. In males the dorsal sides of the wings are bright orange red, framed by a black outline with white spots. The undersides range from bright red to pale brown, interlaced by black and white. This astonishing pattern helps to disguise the shape of the butterfly, while the intense color of the dorsal sides of the wings is a warning to predators that the red lacewing has a bad taste, deriving from the poisonous host plants of the caterpillars. The dorsal sides of the wings of the females are greyish-brownish with black spots and white bands and spots on the black margins.
Caterpillars have several reddish, black and white stripes, a black head and long black spikes that contain poison. In fact they mainly feed on poisonous climbing plants, mainly Passiflora species (P. cochinchinensis, P. moluccana, etc.).
This species can be found from the Indian subcontinent eastwards to South-East Asia and East Asia, the eastern limit being the Philippines, and the southern limit being Indonesia.
I hope you enjoyed reading about these red butterflies. See you again next month!
Blessings,
Yvonne
That's OK about the comment. I "panic off the handle" anyway so no harm done. LOL. Have a great weekend!!
I can't believe that you remembered, Michelle! It just really means so much to me... a little teary and grateful... hugs xo Patty
Thank you so much for the beautiful card and your oh so kind words. Hugs, Tracy
Michelle - you have the kindest heart ever. Thank you so much for sending me the beautiful card you made. It is gorgeous! And what a thoughtful note you wrote inside. I can't thank you enough. Tami