“Named in reference to the mineral of the same name, the malachite butterfly (Siproeta stelenes) boasts a brilliant green coloration on its wings.”
Today at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens -the Butterfly Forest -Pittsburgh PA
The Second butterfly was photographed at Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens https://www.fpconservatory.org/ in Columbus Ohio just a week ago.
Wonderful capture of this beautiful butterfly, which I have not seen before, Ruth!
Thank you Peter. They were something to see, so bright and lovely.
There is still beauty in this crazy world! Thanks for showing us Ruth E.
Thanks Sue. They were beautiful for sure.
My daughter used to call them flutterbys!
Sweet memory of dear Jennifer.
A lovely way to start my week. Thanks.
Thanks for always leaving a good word, Connie.
Here’s a quote from Wikipedia on this butterfly: The malachite is found throughout Central and northern South America, where it is one of the most common butterfly species. Its distribution extends as far north as southern Texas and the tip of Florida, to Cuba as subspecies S. s. insularis (Holland, 1916), and S. s. biplagiata, and south to Brazil.
Are the two places you saw them protected areas that never get cold? Because if they aren’t, we sure are seeing the results of global warming quickly!
They are both Conservatories and Botanical Gardens like huge glass greenhouses. The Phipps is in Pittsburgh and Franklin Park is in Columbus.
Whoa – two beauties!
Excellent pictures. The first butterfly looks perfect😀, but the second one looks like it’s falling apart😕