Banded owl-butterfly
The banded owl-butterfly is a giant butterfly from the forests of Central and South America. Its wings can be as wide as a grown-up's hand. Like other owl butterflies, it has big round eye spots under its wings that look like an owl's eyes.
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Fun facts
It can live 3 to 4 months or more, which is long for a butterfly.
Its chrysalis looks like a dead leaf with shiny gold spots.
The males rest most of the day and are busy for about an hour around 6 in the morning and 6 in the evening.
It is slow, so birds often attack it.
It is easy to breed, so you can often see it in butterfly houses.
Most asked questions about Banded owl-butterfly
?How big is the banded owl-butterfly?
Its wings measure 14 to 16 centimetres from tip to tip.
?What does the banded owl-butterfly eat?
The butterflies drink rotting fruit juice. The caterpillars eat banana and heliconia leaves.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Caligo atreus
- Group
- Butterflies
- Family
- Nymphalidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Nymphalidae
- Lives on
- North America, South America
- Also known as
- Yellow-edged giant owl
Where the facts come from
- Caligo atreus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author and if you want send me a message . or ( [email protected] ). CC BY-SA 3.0 at, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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