Patterns in Nature: Butterflies - natgeo collections

Patterns in Nature: Butterflies - natgeo collections

Neglected Eighty-Eight Butterfly

Photograph by Joel Sartore

A neglected eighty-eight butterfly (Diaethria neglecta) in Brazil’s Pantanal displays the design of lines and dots that gave it its unusual common name.

Birdwing Butterfly

Photograph by Nicole Duplaix

Australia’s largest butterfly, the birdwing (Ornithoptera priamus) blends into a green leaf. Female birdwings can have a wingspan of nearly 8 inches (20 centimeters).

Pipevine Swallowtail

Photograph by Darlyne A. Murawski

The pipevine swallowtail butterfly (Battus philenor) has white-and-orange dots on the underside of its hind wing.

Zebra-Winged Butterfly

Photograph by Joel Sartore

The petals of a white flower set off the white stripes of this zebra-winged butterfly at a children’s zoo in Lincoln, Nebraska.