Bottoms Up

[58chevy]

The undersides of some specimens are just as showy as the upper sides. Show us yours.
Top to bottom: Agraulis vanillae, Adelpha eulalia, Papilio polyxenes

[daveuk]

Three undersides of Hypna(Anaea)clytemnestra.
Have always found the underside of this species very attractive.
I think the female from Brazil is subspecies huebneri.

[58chevy]

Those Anaea are spectacular! Thanks for posting.

[wollastoni]

As a Delias collector, I love this "bottoms up" topic !


Delias messalina messalina, Bougainville, Solomon islands

About Hypna clytemnestra, I met some in French Guiana. Very impressive black beast in the forest !

[boghaunter1]

I really like this Topic... hope more participate! Below are 2 common N. Am. butterfly species. One is of the beautiful ventral surface of the Am. Painted Lady, Vanessa virginiensis. From 2001-2016 I was very fortunate to collect 39 specimens (25 males/14 females) as it is quite a rare migrant sp. this far north in Saskatchewan, Canada. When the "Lady" was freshly removed from the spreading board the pale orange flush on the ventral forewings was a very beautiful pink that unfortunately fades with time... still has very nice intricate patterns & eyespots. The second specimen is of the Common Wood Nymph (what a misnomer common name as it is almost always found in grassy areas) Cercyonis pegala ino. This is a rare aberration that has 3 eyespots on the ventral forewings... the only such example I have ever encountered.

Am. Painted Lady Ventral reduced.jpg (350.47 KiB) Viewed 3446 times

Meadow Brown 3-spot anomaly reduced.jpg (313.3 KiB) Viewed 3446 times

John K.

[58chevy]

We can't forget the Caligo genus (owl butterflies). Here are a couple (top, C. atreus / bottom, C.idomeneus)