Malachite
Siproeta stelenes
Malachite · Carlsbad · 7 March 2026
A second Malachite, wings folded rather than spread, resting on a leaf in the butterfly house. In the wild this is a butterfly of the forest edge from Mexico to Brazil, and it rests exactly like this under a leaf through the heat of the day.
The underside carries the same pale green-and-black pattern as the upperside, just muted, which is unusual. Most butterflies use a bright upperside for display and a dull, cryptic underside for camouflage at rest, but this species doesn't bother hiding much either way.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
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