Butterflies LIVE!
Please note: We will not have our Butterflies LIVE! exhibit in 2024 and 2025 while we expand the Conservatory to include a permanent butterfly house. Learn more about the Garden’s expansion project.
Meet the Butterflies
Identify the butterflies you’ve seen at Butterflies LIVE! Learn the scientific, common name and country of origin. Experience the wonderful world of butterflies with the help of Butterflies LIVE!
Common Morpho
Morpho peleides
Family: Nymphalidae
Range: Mexico to Colombia
Wingspan: 5-8 in. (12.7 – 20.3 cm.)
Fast Fact: Common morphos are attracted to fermenting fruits.
White Morpho
Morpho polyphemus
Family: Nymphalidae
Range: Mexico to Central America
Wingspan: 4-4.75 in. (10-12 cm.)
Fast Fact: Adult white morphos prefer to feed on rotting fruits or sap from trees.
Whitened Bluewing
Myscelia cyaniris
Family: Nymphalidae
Range: Mexico, parts of Central and South America
Wingspan: 1.3-1.4 in. (3.3-3.6 cm.)
Fast Fact: The underside of the whitened bluewing is silvery-gray, allowing it to blend in on bark and branches.
Mexican Bluewing
Myscelia ethusa
Family: Nymphalidae
Range: Mexico, Central America, Colombia
Wingspan: 2.5-3.0 in. (6.4-7.6 cm.)
Fast Fact: Young caterpillars attach
dung pellets and silk to a leaf vein to create a resting perch.
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 have tails.
Banded Peacock
Papilio palinurus
Family: Papilionidae
Range: Southeast Asia
Wingspan: 3-4 in. (8-10 cm.)
Fast Fact: Several Asian butterflies are green. The banded peacock can be recognized by its finer shape and curves of the wings.
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.
Pink Cattle Heart
Parides iphidamas
Family: Papilionidae
Range: Southeastern Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru
Wingspan: 3.9 in. (10 cm.)
Fast Fact: The pink cattle heart butterflies have wings dominated with red and yellow-green areas.
Giant Owl
Caligo memnon
Family: Nymphalidae
Range: Mexico to Amazon Rainforest
Wingspan: 4.5-5 in. (11.4-13 cm.)
Fast Fact: The giant owl can be recognized by the large patch of pale orange-yellow covering most of its forewings.
Forest Blue Morph
Caligo eurilochus
Family: Nymphalidae
Range: Mexico, Central and South America
Wingspan: 4-5 in. (10-13.5 cm.)
Fast Fact: Because of their large size and their tendency to fly at night, these butterflies are often mistaken for bats.
Brown Owl
Caligo oileus
Family: Nymphalidae
Range: Mexico to Northern South America
Wingspan: 4.5-5.1 in. (11.4-13 cm.)
Fast Fact: The brown owl inhabits cloud forest habitats at altitudes between 600 and 1,600 meters.
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.
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.
Tailed Jay
Graphium agamemnon
Family: Papilionidae
Range: India, Sri Lanka through Southeast Asia, and Australia
Wingspan: 3.2-3.9 in. (8-10 cm.)
Fast Fact: The green spots on the wings of the tailed jay make it difficult to locate in the dappled sunlight of the rainforest.
Gray Cracker
Hamadryas feronia
Family: Nymphalidae
Range: Texas to Argentina, southern Brazil, Paraguay
Wingspan: 2.9-3.3 in. (7.3-8.3 cm.)
Fast Fact: Gray crackers blend into their surroundings in the tropical dry forest, where bark is often silvery-grey or brown.
Blue and White Longwing
Heliconius cydno
Family: Nymphalidae
Range: Southern Mexico to western Ecuador
Wingspan: 2.9-3.3 in. (7.3-8.3 cm.)
Fast Fact: Blue and white longwings are fast fliers.
Golden Helicon
Heliconius hecale
Family: Nymphalidae
Range: Central America to Amazon
Wingspan: 2.8-3.5 in. (7-9 cm.)
Fast Fact: The larvae of the longwings, also known as the heliconids, feed on members of the passion flower family.
Postman
Heliconius melpomene
Family: Nymphalidae
Range: Central and South America
Wingspan: 1.4-1.5 in. (3.6-3.8 cm.)
Fast Fact: The postman tends to avoid direct sunlight. There are many morphs.
Black Swallowtail
Papilio polyxenes
Family: Papilionidae
Range: Southern Canada, North America, South America
Wingspan: 3.5-4.5 in. (9-11.5 cm.)
Fast Fact: The black swallowtail is also called the anise swallowtail, since its larval hosts include umbellifers like parsley, anise, and dill.
Black and Tan Page
Siproeta epaphus
Family: Nymphalidae
Range: Tropical rainforests in Central and South America
Wingspan: 2.3-3 in. (7-7.5 cm.)
Fast Fact: Females are similar to males, but larger.
Zebra Mosaic
Colobura dirce
Family: Nymphalidae
Range: Mexico to Central and South America
Wingspan: 2.5-2.75 in. (6-7 cm.)
Fast Fact: The zebra mosaic eats rotting bananas and other fruits, and sometimes even visits wet laundry. They rarely feed on nectar from flowers.
Monarch
Danaus plexippus
Family: Nymphalidae
Range: North America, South America, Australia
Wingspan: 3.25-4.75 in. (8-11 cm.)
Fast Fact: Monarchs are the state insect or state butterfly of Alabama, Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, Texas, Vermont and West Virginia. They were named after King William of Orange.
Autumn Leaf
Doleschallia bisaltide
Family: Nymphalidae
Range: Southeast Asia, Australia
Wingspan: 2.5-2.8 in. (6-7 cm.)
Fast Fact: The autumn leaf forms a leaf-like shape when it closes its wings, helping it blend into its surroundings.
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 is the largest species of the Pieridae family in Asia.
Doris Longwing
Heliconius doris
Family: Nymphalidae
Range: Central to South America
Wingspan: 3.3-3.5 in. (8-9 cm.)
Fast Fact: The doris longwing has three color forms. The forewing colors remain the same in all three forms, while the hindwings can be orange, blue, or green.
Grecian Shoemaker
Catonephele numilia
Family: Nymphalidae
Range: Central to South America
Wingspan: 2.5-3 in. (6.5-8 cm.)
Fast Fact: The Grecian shoemaker butterfly is sexually dimorphic, meaning that the male and the female butterflies look different from one another. While both butterflies look the same with wings closed, the male has bright orange spots as shown above. The females are black with a light yellow band. These butterflies, sometimes called stoplight Catone, like to enjoy rotting fruit!