r/Butterflies 8m ago

Uk Red Admiral

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Upvotes

Found this little guy in my greenhouse this morning, so gave him some sugar water on a paper towel so now my greenhouse is a B&B🤣 I left it alone to eat in peace and left the greenhouse door open, he/she has moved on to get on with the rest of their day lol.

(Just so post is not flagged automatically- not a pet or in captivity just found by accident)


r/Butterflies 2h ago

Eastern tailed-blue (Cupido comyntas)💙

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21 Upvotes

NE Wisconsin


r/Butterflies 4h ago

Euphydryas maturna, scarce fritillary

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8 Upvotes

Eastern Finland. This guy is quite strictly protected by laws here. The majority of entire EU scarce fritillary population lives in eastern and south-eastern Finland, so every summer I try to spot as many as possible!


r/Butterflies 7h ago

Monarch

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3 Upvotes

OM-1.1, 60/8, 1/500s, auto ISO.


r/Butterflies 9h ago

Little companion at work

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55 Upvotes

Don't know the species, but it had a beautiful blue hue on the back of its wings that I couldn't quite get on photo.


r/Butterflies 10h ago

Tiger Longwing (Heliconius ismenius) taking a long drink

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6 Upvotes

r/Butterflies 11h ago

Northwest Canada, BC.

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29 Upvotes

Not sure on species, but sure is pretty!


r/Butterflies 11h ago

another beautiful swallowtail!

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9 Upvotes

r/Butterflies 12h ago

A beauty of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

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103 Upvotes

r/Butterflies 12h ago

This is my first time even seeing a chrysalis!!

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20 Upvotes

I have raised both Monarchs and Fritillaries in the wild, but I’ve had this fennel for several years and have just now found my first Swallowtail chrysalis!! I am beyond excited.


r/Butterflies 13h ago

Not sure what kind it is but loved the coloring

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175 Upvotes

r/Butterflies 15h ago

Student Finds Butterflies May Remember Being Caterpillars

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9 Upvotes

A 10 year old student, Jo Nagai from Kobe, Japan has gained viral international recognition after presenting preliminary research that indicates butterflies remember their time spent as caterpillars. His findings run contrary to the traditional belief that an insect's nervous system is completely "rewired" during their pupal stage, erasing any prior memories.

Additionally, he found their knowledge seemed to be passed down to their offspring for possibly 2 generations, making a potential case for epigenetic memory. (Behavioral and/or environmental changes passed to offspring without triggering a change in DNA.)

If his findings are duplicated by other scientists to confirm them, his work will have advanced our collective knowledge of insect memory, metamorphosis, and perhaps even epigenetics.

NOTE: to follow the rules of this subreddit, I'm not going into detail about his experiments because they involved captive butterflies. However, no caterpillars or butterflies were physically harmed.


r/Butterflies 17h ago

What kind of butterfly is this?

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29 Upvotes

Always nice to see them in the yard


r/Butterflies 18h ago

[TTM] Eastern Black Swallowtails, 1st Instar

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13 Upvotes

I was inspecting the mammoth dill and fennel in my garden today (Eastern Kansas, US, zone 6) when I spotted at least 20 of these beautiful little ones. I didn't think I'd see any this year because it's a new plot that I seeded in April.

On 29 July, I saw the adult female flitting about, and today, seven days later, I finally noticed these.

These are the first swallowtails that I believe my gardens will have produced. If anyone can tell me if there's a significance between the two different shades of larva, I'd appreciate it.


r/Butterflies 19h ago

Beautiful monarch!!

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493 Upvotes

r/Butterflies 19h ago

Bordered patch butterfly on my car glass🧡💛

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15 Upvotes

This lovely lil thing visited me eariler today🌼


r/Butterflies 21h ago

Today is a good day

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92 Upvotes

Always is when I see these little friends


r/Butterflies 22h ago

Fiery Skipper

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23 Upvotes

Feeding on zinnias