Sexually Dimorphic Butterflies
Some butterflies look different depending on if the are male or female. This is called sexual dimorphism. The male often has brighter colors to attract the female’s attention, however there may be other characteristics such as size, tails, or wing patterns that differentiate them. Here’s your guide to telling the difference between the sexually dimorphic butterflies you’ll see in Butterflies LIVE! Please note that our selection of butterflies changes often, so we may not have all these butterflies at all times. New butterflies are released daily at 10 a.m. (and 10 a.m. and 2 p.m on Saturdays).
Male New Guinea Birdwing
Ornithoptera priamus
Family: Papilionidae
Range: Australia
Wingspan: 5 in. (12.7 cm.)
Fast Fact: Males are smaller than females with green and black markings.
Female New Guinea Birdwing
Ornithoptera priamus
Family: Papilionidae
Range: Australia
Wingspan: 5 in. (12.7 cm.)
Fast Fact: Females are much larger than the males, and their wings are black with white markings.
Male Mocker Swallowtail
Papilio dardanus
Family: Papilionidae
Range: Africa
Wingspan: 3.9-4.7 in. (10-12 cm.)
Fast Fact: The male mocker swallowtail has a tail, while the female is tailless.
Female Mocker Swallowtail
Papilio dardanus
Family: Papilionidae
Range: Africa
Wingspan: 3.9-4.7 in. (10-12 cm.)
Fast Fact: The females have 14 different possible morphs!
Male Great Mormon
Papilio memnon
Family: Papilionidae
Range: Southeast Asia
Wingspan: 4.6-6.0 in. (11.7-15 cm.)
Fast Fact: Male Great Mormons never have tails, while females may or may not.
Female Great Mormon
Papilio memnon
Family: Papilionidae
Range: Southeast Asia
Wingspan: 4.6-6.0 in. (11.7-15 cm.)
Fast Fact: This female Great Mormon doesn’t have a tail.
Male Scarlet Mormon
Papilio rumanzovia
Family: Papilionidae
Range: Indonesia, The Philippines
Wingspan: 5.5 in. (14 cm.)
Fast Fact: Male Scarlet Mormon butterflies display only a little scarlet color on the outside of their wings, while female Scarlet Mormons have red on both sides of their wings.
Female Scarlet Mormon
Papilio rumanzovia
Family: Papilionidae
Range: Indonesia, The Philippines
Wingspan: 5.5 in. (14 cm.)
Fast Fact: Females are polymorphic, meaning there is variation in the way they look. Here’s one example of a female scarlet Mormon.
Male Leopard Lacewing
Cethosia cyane
Family: Nymphalidae
Range: India to southern China and Indochina
Wingspan: 4 in. (10 cm.)
Fast Fact: The leopard lacewing can be found in lowland and upland rainforest habitats.
Female Leopard Lacewing
Cethosia cyane
Family: Nymphalidae
Range: India to southern China and Indochina
Wingspan: 4 in. (10 cm.)
Fast Fact: The female leopard lacewing has more of a muted color.
Male Julia
Dryas iulia
Family: Nymphalidae
Range: South and Central America
Wingspan: 3-3.25 in. (7.5-9.5 cm.)
Fast Fact: This species exhibits sexual dimorphism, which is the term for males and females having different patterns or sizes.
Female Julia
Dryas iulia
Family: Nymphalidae
Range: South and Central America
Wingspan: 3-3.25 in. (7.5-9.5 cm.)
Fast Fact: The females have more brown on th top side of their wings, whereas the males only have a little bit of brown.
Male Great Orange Tip
Hebomoia glaucippe
Family: Pieridae
Range: India to Malaysia, China and Japan
Wingspan: 2.8-4.0 in. (7.0-10.0 cm.)
Fast Fact: The great orange tip butterfly is the largest species of the Pieridae family in Asia.
Female Great Orange Tip
Hebomoia glaucippe
Family: Pieridae
Range: India to Malaysia, China and Japan
Wingspan: 2.8-4.0 in. (7.0-10.0 cm.)
Fast Fact: The females have brown spots and edgings on their hindwings