A Malachite Butterfly with vibrant orange and blue patterns rests delicately upside down on a green leaf. The soft, blurred background of foliage enhances the focus on the butterfly's intricate wing details. This cutie was photographed at the Daniel Stowe Conservancy in Belmont North Carolina.Their upper side is dark brown to black with translucent whitish green or yellow-green patches. Underside is orange-brown with greenish patches. During the dry season (winter) form is larger and the hindwing underside has smudged black marks inside the orange marginal band wet season (summer) form is smaller and has silver marks instead of black smudges.Their range is from Brazil north through Central America, Mexico, and the West Indies to southern Florida and South Texas. A rare stray into Kansas. The southern Florida populations have become established since the 1960s presumably having emigrated from Cuba.Their habitat is mango, citrus, and avocado orchards in Florida subtropical evergreen or semideciduous forests in Central America.
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