''Siproeta stelenes'' (malachite) is a

Neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeogra ...

brush-footed butterfly (family

Nymphalidae The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species ha ...

). The malachite has large wings that are black and brilliant green or yellow-green on the upperside and light brown and

olive green Olive is a dark yellowish-green color, like that of unripe or green olives. As a color word in the English language, it appears in late Middle English. Variations Olivine Olivine is the typical color of the mineral olivine. The first re ...

on the underside. It is named for the mineral

malachite Malachite () is a copper Carbonate mineral, carbonate hydroxide mineral, with the chemical formula, formula Basic copper carbonate, Cu2CO3(OH)2. This opaque, green-banded mineral crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system, and most often for ...

, which is similar in color to the bright green on the butterfly's wings. Typically, the wingspread is between . The malachite is found throughout Central and northern South America, where it is one of the most common butterfly species. Its distribution extends as far north as southern

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and the tip of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, to

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

as subspecies ''S. s. insularis'' (

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

, 1916), and ''S. s. biplagiata'', and south to Brazil. Adults feed on flower

nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...

, rotting

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

, dead animals, and

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

dung. Females lay eggs on the new leaves of plants in the family

Acanthaceae Acanthaceae () is a Family (biology), family (the acanthus family) of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing almost 250 genera and about 2500 species. Most are Tropics, tropical Herbaceous plant, herbs, shrubs, or twining vines; some are epip ...

, especially ''

Ruellia ''Ruellia'' is a genus of flowering plants commonly known as ruellias or wild petunias. They are not closely related to petunias (''Petunia'') although both genera belong to the same euasterids I, euasterid clade. The genus was named in honor of ...

''. The

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e are horned, spiny, black

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...

s with red markings, The pupal stage is green, with sharp, gold spines that can puncture predators. Malachites often are confused with the heliconiine '' Philaethria dido''. They have similar coloration, but their wing shapes are different. Malachite (Siproeta stelenes insularis).jpg, ''S. s. insularis'',

Malachite (Siproeta stelenes biplagiata) underside Honduras.jpg, ''S. s. biplagiata'',

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

Antillean malachite (Siproeta stelenes stelenes).JPG, ''S. s. stelenes'',

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

Siproeta stelenes meridionalis MHNT.jpg, ''S. s. meridionalis'' - MHNT

References

External links

* *
Malachite fact sheet

The Butterfly Project: Siproeta stelenes 2009
stelenes Butterflies described in 1758 Butterflies of Central America Fauna of Cuba Butterflies of North America Fauna of the Rio Grande valleys Nymphalidae of South America Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Lepidoptera of the United States Lepidoptera of Mexico {{Nymphalinae-stub