Malachite

This butterfly is named Siproeta stelenes, but better known as the Malachite or Pearly Malachite. The translucent pale green patches seem luminous in the black-brown of its wings – the wings’ underside is pictured on the front. It can be found from Brazil through Central America to the Southern U.S., sometimes as far north as Kansas. The butterflies feed on mango, citrus, avocado and other subtropical fruits and flowers. It is a member of the large Nymphalidae family, the ‘brush-footed butterflies’, named for the tufts on the front pair of legs. America, Europe and Asia.