Discover 8 of the Most Unique Butterflies in the World

There are nearly 20,000 butterfly species divided into six families. They are spread across every continent except for Antarctica. Among those 20,000 species, there are many unique butterflies. There are carnivorous butterflies that prey on aphids, and a species that tricks ants into raising its young. Some butterflies are simply enormous, while others are smaller than a dime. Yet, whether they are colorful, rare, or just downright unusual, these eight unique butterflies demonstrate just how varied butterfly species really are.

#8: Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing — The World’s Largest Butterfly

The Queen Alexandra’s birdwing butterfly (Ornithoptera alexandrae) is native to the rainforests of Papua New Guinea. These butterflies are part of the swallowtail family, known for their bright colors and the tail-like extensions on their hind wings. The Queen Alexandra’s birdwing butterfly was named after Queen Alexandra, the Danish wife of King Edward VII of England.

Their wingspan can reach around 11 inches from tip to tip, and their bodies are over 3 inches long. The males are slightly smaller than the females overall. The males also have colorful blue-green and black wings, which are in stark contrast to the brown and cream wings of the females. Caterpillars exclusively eat the vines and foliage of pipevine, while adults feed on nectar from various rainforest flowers.

#7: Western Pygmy Blue Butterfly — North America’s Smallest Butterfly

With a wingspan of only 0.5 to 0.75 inches, the Western pygmy blue butterfly (Brephidium exilis) is the smallest butterfly found in North America and one of the smallest in the world. The females are generally slightly larger than the males. They belong to the family Lycaenidae, known for their copper, blue, or bronze wing colors. The antennae of most members of this family have black and white bands.

These butterflies have coppery brown and blue wings with black markings on the edge of the hindwings. They are usually found in the arid regions of the southwestern U.S., including deserts and salt marshes. They feed on a variety of different host plants, including saltbush, seepweed, horse purslane, and pigweed.

#6: Brimstone Butterfly — The World’s Longest-Lived Butterfly

The brimstone butterfly (Gonepteryx rhamni) is believed to have the longest life expectancy of any butterfly at around 12 months. The bright yellowish-green, leaf-shaped wings can identify this unique butterfly. The females have very light green, nearly white wings. They belong to the family Pieridae, which generally has wide, white, orange, or yellow wing colors. This is a medium to large-sized butterfly with a wingspan that can reach nearly 3 inches.

The brimstone butterfly can be found in grasslands, scrub, and woodlands throughout Europe, North Africa, and Asia. They primarily feed on buckthorn and alder buckthorn leaves, which are found in moist, acidic soil. The adult butterflies feed until early autumn, then they typically overwinter in woodland areas before emerging in the spring to mate.

#5: Spring Azure — The Butterfly With the Shortest Life Expectancy

With a wingspan of 0.75-2.75 inches, the spring azure (Celastrina ladon) is a small to medium-sized butterfly in the Lycaenidae family. They are commonly found throughout the eastern U.S. and are some of the earliest to emerge in the spring. However, they only live for a few days. Experts believe they mate and lay their eggs within a few hours of leaving the chrysalis.

Host plants include woody shrubs such as dogwoods, cherry, and meadowsweet, among others. They prefer open, deciduous woodlands and old fields. Spring azures have underwings of pale bluish-gray with small, dark markings. In males, the upper sides are iridescent blue, while in females, the upper sides are blue edged in black.

#4: Painted Lady — The Farthest Migration of Any Species

The painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui) is the most widely distributed butterfly species on Earth. It can be found on every continent except Australia, South America, and Antarctica. However, subspecies of painted ladies can be found in Australia and South America. Painted ladies belong to the Nymphalidae family, which is characterized by smaller forelegs covered in sensory hairs. They are known for their long migrations. Scientists discovered that painted ladies migrate 9,000 miles round-trip from the tropical regions of Africa to the Arctic Circle. In North America, the migration to Mexico and back to Canada and the U.S. can take up to six generations to complete.

Scientists are not sure why their migration patterns in North America are not seasonal. However, they believe that precipitation and storm patterns due to events like El Niño may impact when and where they fly, as painted ladies prefer open, dry habitats. One reason they can fly so far is that they’re generalist herbivores, known to feed on around 300 different types of plants. They also have the ability — which they share with the monarch butterfly — to store toxic chemicals from the flowers they eat in their blood, making them unpalatable to many predators. These orange, brown, black, and white butterflies have wingspans up to almost 3 inches.

#3: Zebra Longwing — Butterflies That Can Feed on Pollen

The zebra longwing butterfly (Heliconius charithonia) has long, narrow wings that are black with light yellow stripes. They are most commonly found in Mexico and Central America, but they can also be observed in Florida and some parts of Texas. They favor warm, wet habitats in forests and thickets. The zebra longwing belongs to the Nymphalidae family, and it has a wingspan of around 3 to 3.5 inches.

While most butterflies can only drink nectar through their long, straw-like proboscises, zebra longwings can break down pollen with their saliva. They feed on a variety of flowers, but they prefer shepherd’s needle and lantana. Pollen is packed with protein, so their nutritious diet allows them to live longer and produce eggs for up to six months.

#2: Harvester Butterfly — The Butterfly That’s Also a Carnivore

Harvester butterflies (Feniseca tarquinius) are the only butterflies in the United States known to be fully carnivorous during the caterpillar, or larval, phase of their life cycle. More specifically, harvester caterpillars are specialized carnivores who feed almost exclusively on woolly aphids. They sometimes put the bodies of dead aphids on their spiky hairs as camouflage. These butterflies can be found in woodland habitats from southern Canada to Florida and west over to central Texas.

Adult harvester butterflies are not carnivores, but they also do not drink nectar like other butterflies. They have short proboscises that make dining on flower nectar difficult. Instead, they feed on a combination of aphid honeydew, sap, dung, and mud. The upper side of their wings is orange and brown, while the underside is orange or reddish-brown with white circular outlines. They are small butterflies in the Lycaenidae family with wingspans of 1 to 1.33 inches.

#1: Alcon Blue — The Butterfly That Tricks Ants Into Raising Its Young

The Alcon blue (Phengaris alcon) belongs to the family Lycaenidae and can be found in damp meadows in Europe and northern Asia. Although the larvae begin eating the flowers of gentian plants, they employ a similar strategy to the cuckoo bird to complete their development. The caterpillars have a coating on their skin that mimics Myrmica ants’ chemical signatures. When the caterpillars drop to the ground, the ants mistake them for their own young and carry them back to their nests. Alcon blue caterpillars finish their development in the ants’ nests, being fed by their workers for up to two years.

However, ants recognize the intruder once it hatches, so the adult Alcon blue must escape quickly to avoid attack. Alcon blue butterflies are small butterflies with wingspans between 1 and 1.5 inches. The males are a medium-blue color with dark, narrow borders on their wings. The females are a darker blue-brown color with more pronounced black markings.