The Eltham Copper Butterfly has a unique triangular shape on the top of its wings, in a bright orange-yellow or copper colour. Its wings are a pale brown colour underneath. The butterfly was first discovered around Eltham in 1938 and was believed to have become extinct around the 1950s.
DESCRIPTION: Adult Hermes copper butterflies have a wingspan between one and 1.25 inches. Upperside forewings are brown with yellow, brown-spotted centers; upperside hindwings are also brown and have a small tail with yellow within it. Underside forewings and hindwings are yellow with brownish spots.
Once the eggs hatch, the ants guard the caterpillars (providing protection from predators) ushering the larvae to and from the ant nest at the base of the shrub, to feed on the Sweet Bursaria leaves at night.
Habitat destruction and loss is thought to be the prime reason for decline of this species; particularly loss of the Sweet Bursaria and loss of habitat supporting Notoncus species of ants.
The small copper has bright orange forewings with dark brown spots and a thick, dark brown margin. It has dark brown hindwings that are banded with orange.
Though it remains a common and widespread species, the Small Copper declined throughout its range during the twentieth century. Widespread through Britain and Ireland, and occasionally visits gardens.
Blue is the rarest occurring colour in nature, with no true blue pigments in plants. In some ways, blue butterflies are natures way of completing the colour spectrum.
The island marble butterfly is one of the rarest butterflies in North America.
The Cairns Birdwing (Ornithoptera priamus) is the largest butterfly in Australia with a wingspan of over 16cm.
Dainty Swallowtail Butterflies are the smallest swallowtail butterflies in Australia.
Life span is about 10 years. The long snout is an adaptation for feeding on benthic invertebrates in crevices and holes. Considered difficult to keep in a home aquarium. Other common names include “beaked coralfish” and “copper-banded butterflyfish.”
Butterflies generally have a very short life. The adult American copper butterfly is known to have a life span of approximately 2 weeks.
The bronze copper butterfly (L. hyllus) is found in southern Canada and throughout most of the United States. Adults typically have a wingspan of about 3.2 to 4.8 cm (1.3 to 1.9 inches).
The purple copper butterfly is one of Australia's rarest butterfly species. It is also known as the Bathurst copper butterfly. The purple copper butterfly is only found in the Central Tablelands of NSW. Its habitat is restricted to elevations above 900 metres.
Common and widespread, this medium-sized butterfly can be found in gardens and hedgerows.
Description. A small butterfly with a wingspan of approximately 20 mm. The upper sides of the butterfly's wings are copper-coloured and display a purple, blue, and green iridescence when sunning. The undersides of the wings are patterned with subtle brown, black and grey.
The purple copper butterfly is one of Australia's rarest butterfly species and is only found in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales. Its habitat is restricted to elevations above 900 metres. The purple copper butterfly feeds only on a subspecies of blackthorn (Bursaria spinosa subspecies lasiophylla).
Provides the first complete overview of the biology of the Australian bustard, Australia's heaviest flying bird.
Butterflies don't bite because they can't. Caterpillars munch on leaves and eat voraciously with their chewing mouthparts, and some of them do bite if they feel threatened. But once they become butterflies, they only have a long, curled proboscis, which is like a soft drinking straw—their jaws are gone.
Monarch butterflies also known as the king of butterflies possess 12000 eyes, which helps them to see in all directions. These butterflies possess two kinds of eyes, that is, compound and simple.
Butterflies have been recorded in fossils dating back to the mid-Eocene epoch, around 40-50 million years ago, although their origin is thought to be earlier. Lithopsyche is about 34 million years old, 'so it's an old flapper,' says Claire.
There are a few butterflies across the world with a purple appearance. Some of these include: the Purple Emperor, the Colorado Hairstreak, the Purple Hairstreak, the Rhopalocera Singaporeana, the Purple Sapphire, the Karner blue, the Purple leafwing, and the Royal Assyrian.
Can Butterflies Be Pink? Many experts say that there are no butterflies that are really pink in color, though some species may appear pink due to iridescence. Pink is not a color that exists in nature, it is not a wavelength or particle, and does not appear in the visible spectrum.
Butterflies can see high frequency colors like, green, blue and violet. Butterflies also see ultraviolet light which is a higher frequency than what humans can see. This helps them find flowers to feed from and mates for reproducing with.