Tropical leafwing
Anaea aidea
The tropical leafwing is a butterfly from Mexico and Central America. Leafwings get their name because, with closed wings, they look like a dry leaf. Open, its wings are about as wide as a child's hand.
Lives in
From Mexico to northwestern Costa Rica, with a few strays in Texas, Arizona and California
Wingspan
5.7 to 7.8 cm (2.2 to 3.1 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat croton plants. Not much is written about what the grown-ups eat.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
🧱wings as wide as 2.5 toy building bricks⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 22 seconds
How big is Tropical leafwing compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
Tropical leafwing about 17 km/h (11 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
A car driving in town about 50 km/h (31 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
Now and then a lost one flies north into Texas, Arizona or California.
2
Some scientists think it is not a separate kind, but just a variety of another leafwing.
3
It is part of the brush-footed butterflies, a huge family that also has the peacock and the red admiral.
you asked
Most asked questions about Tropical leafwing
?Is the tropical leafwing dangerous?
No. It is a butterfly and cannot bite or sting.
?What do tropical leafwing caterpillars eat?
Croton plants.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Anaea aidea
- Group
- Butterflies
- Family
- Nymphalidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Nymphalidae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Anaea aidea (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 Meganmccarty ( talk ). Public domain, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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