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Atlides halesus
Small butterfly, about the size of a quarter, the incandescent blue color is very striking on this example of the species, especially in the sunlight. The brown and black eyespots on its upper wings, and the checkered patches and tails on its lower wings really helped in the identification. It's really a beautiful butterfly.
It is actually a Neotropical species; its North American range only includes the warm-temperate and subtropical parts of that continent, and it ranges southwards almost to the Isthmus of Panama. The type specimen, however, was shipped to Europe from the Colony of Virginia, probably around the time of the United States Declaration of Independence. Habitat description from Encyclopedia of Life
Found it dead on my front porch, it took me two days of searching to get an id.
Spotted on Mar 5, 2016
Submitted on Mar 6, 2016
5 Comments
Serious competition for the peacock. Thanks for sharing.
Cool
WOW
Quarter
Small blue and about the size of a wuarter