Aphrodite Butterfly -- Confident, Showy, Opinionated  Even for a creature as lovely as a butterfly, bearing the name of an ancient goddess of beauty is a lot to live up to. No single feature or behavior connects the Aphrodite fritillary with the Greek deity Aphrodite, but as one of the showiest butterflies in Chicago Wilderness, this species is a celestial beauty in its own right. About the size of a monarch butterfly, the Aphrodite is tawny orange with black spotting on the tops of its wings. The undersides of its wings, ranging from tan to brown, feature beautiful silvery spots. These silver markings appear metallic, but they are actually made of specialized scales. Zebra Longwing Butterfly -- Thinker, Planner, Usually Mellow  With long and narrow black and white striped wings, the Zebra Longwing spans close to 3 inches making for a light and wispy fluttering. Their flight pattern is slow and they are not easily startled making the Zebra easy to follow and observe!Zebra butterflies are said to be the most intelligent butterflies and they have a structured social life. They are communal roosters, which means that when nightfall comes, the Zebra Longwing will roost in groups of 30 or more and will also return to the same location each and every night. Glasswing Butterfly -- Honest, Unique, Compassionate One of the most exquisite – and little known – species of butterfly on the planet. This butterfly’s claim to fame is that its wings, spanning up to six centimeters, are almost completely transparent. That’s right, you can see just about right through them.The common English name for this remarkable butterfly is glasswing, . However, it takes the romance languages to step in and give the butterfly the name which, for many, suits it best. The Spanish name for the glasswing is ‘espejitos’. Literally translated, this means ‘little mirrors’. Malachite Butterfly --Send me your suggestion for this butterfly!  The malachite has large wings that are black and brilliant green or yellow-green on the uppersides and light brown and olive green on the undersides. It is named after the mineral malachite, which is similar in color to the green on the wings.This butterfly is mainly found throughout Central and northern South America where it is one of the most common butterfly species. Adults eat a varied diet of flower nectar, rotting fruit, dead animals, and bat dung! Red Pierrot -- Fearless, Always tries New Things, A "Character" A small beautiful butterfly where the female is slightly larger and has more rounded wings. The forewings are uniformly black above with a broad red band along the outer margin on the hind wing. This butterfly is a weak flier and moves slowly just a few inches above ground and frequently settles down. When settled, It always sits with its wings closed to display the bright markings of its undersides and also rubs its wings back and forth. The Red Pierrot prefers to fly in dappled shade rather than full sun or dense shade. Like many other butterflies, it is quite lethargic in the early morning hours and can be picked up easily with bare hands. It is considered a fearless butterfly. Mourning Cloak Butterfly -- A bit Apathetic, "Tough Guy" mentality, Many layers to peel through The Mourning Cloak Butterfly is extremely territorial. They are very hairy which helps them live through the cold and snowy Illinois winters. which means that they're often the first butterflies that people see in spring. Since there are no flowers for them to gather nectar at in early springtime, they depend on sap flowing from branches and twigs broken by the wind. The undersides of its wings are very well camouflaged, but if disturbed the mourning cloak will take off with an audible "click." |
Red Lacewing Butterfly -- Social, Friendly, Likes to Please  This butterfly loves to feed on the juices of fruits and the nectar of flowers. The Lacewing has wonderfully complex patterning on the underside of the wings giving it it's common name. Some people think that the patterning on the underside of the wings looks like a choir full of singers. They are a particularly friendly butterfly and often land on people! Blue Cracker Butterfly -- A bit Erratic, Disorganized, Passionate about Many Things A spotted blue appearance and rapid flight make this butterfly quite spectacular. Perhaps even more spectacular is this butterfly's other talent: it produces sound. Most butterflies do not make sound of any sort. The crackers, ten or so species, all use sound to notify other crackers that they are defending their turf. They will fly out at other cracker butterflies and make a loud clicking sound in an attempt to drive them away. Blue Morpho Butterfly -- Mostly introverted, Creative/Artistic, Works with Hands  The blue morpho butterfly is a large butterfly with wingspan measuring 5-8 inches in width. Blue Morpho caterpillars do not like being disturbed; if you bother them, they secrete a foul smelling fluid. The female butterfly's wings have dull blue with brown endings for their wings. There are white spots in the blue area. When the Blue Morpho is flying, it is one of the most beautiful sights because the flapping blue with brown wings create a lovely effect. This species is considered endangered due to loss of its natural habitat and other human activities. Brimstone Butterfly -- Follower, Tries to Blend in, Doesn't cause waves The Brimstone is a mid-sized butterfly. When these butterflies are within foliage, the angular shape and the veining of their wings closely resemble that of a leaf. The name for this butterfly refers to the sulphur colored wings. Brimstone is an old-fashioned name for sulphur. The female is more of a pale green, and in flight, could be mistaken for a large white butterfly. There is one theory that the word 'butterfly' originates from the yellow color of male Brimstones. Purple Sapphire Butterfly --Visionary/Dreamer, Good at Delegating, Enjoys Suprises  Purple Sapphires have little tails that act as imitations of their antennae. They move their closed hind wings up and down to make the imitation antennae move up and down just like the real ones. This behavior is done to confuse birds. If the bird attacks the imitation head then it gives the butterfly an opportunity to escape, and a small peck out of the wing is better than getting its head bit off! The purple sapphire's name seems inaccurate since there's no purple coloring visible anywhere....until the butterfly opens its wings to reveal an iridescent purple pattern on a dark brown background with red trim. A few fun activities: Create your own Butterfly Coloring Pages: |
