Blue Clipper (Parthenos sylvia)

Order: Lepidoptera (le-pid-OP-ter-a) (Info) Family: Nymphalidae (nim-FAL-ih-dee) (Info) Genus: Parthenos (PAR-the-nos) (Info) Species: sylvia (SIL-vee-a) (Info) Profile: 1 positive No neutrals No negatives Member Notes: Rating Author Comment Positive artcons On Aug 3, 2006, artcons from Fort Lauderdale, FL (Zone 10b) wrote: Although not shown in mine due to the limited available light, the white patches are there. An explanation provided by FSU is below. The common name, clipper, is an allusion to the species’ white wing patches that look like the multiple billowing sails on the mighty sailing trade ships of Cramer's day. The white patches are located on the clipper's forewings and stand out against a background that varies in color. The appearance of this Indo-Australian butterfly fluctuates across its broad geographic distribution. The wings may change in size and be blue, green, orange or brown, but the white patches remain unchanged in all of the 26 subspecies. This butterfly picture taken at the Key West FL Butterfly Conservatory August 2005

By artcons By artcons By nifty413 By fly_girl By jmorth