Sunday, September 4, 2011

The Leopard Lacewing Butterfly


The other day I came across this beautiful butterfly on a justicia leaf. It gave me enough time to take these shots before it decided it'd had enough!! Although I had taken two blurry shots of this species two years ago, the photos were definitely not blog-worthy. The Leopard Lacewing/Cethosia cyane is found from India to southern China. According to Wiki, its range has expanded in the last few decades, and its arrival in the southern part of the Malay peninsula, including Singapore, is fairly recent.

My book of butterflies tells me that both sexes have a white band across black apical half of upper forewing. The white V-shaped markings on the scalloped edges of the wings make this butterfly most attractive!

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6 comments:

Randy Emmitt said...

One of my favorites lacewing butterflies. I've not seen this one in the butterfly houses here. Very nice to find out in the wild.

Anita Kumar said...

Such a beauty! You got some lovely shots.

Sylvia K said...

Such a gorgeous butterfly and your photos are fantastic! Hope your weekend is going well! Enjoy!

Sylvia

Ginny Hartzler said...

Gosh, I have never seen a butterfly like this, it is amazing, especially with the zigzag border, it looks like someone painted it. Just stunning!

Judy Royal Glenn said...

Amazing pattern. Love it's eyes too!

Vera said...

Incredible photos! I love them!