Libyan
Butterflies and Moths
Macro Photography by Altaher Altabet
Butterfly Gallery 1
Please click on photo for a big size photo and for slide show
The Green-striped White Butterfly
Euchloe belemia, is a butterfly in the Pieridae family. Its range is northern Africa and occasionally the southern Iberian peninsula, especially Spain and Portugal. The wingspan is 36–44 mm (1.4–1.7 in). Adults are on wing from February to June. The larvae feed on Sisymbrium species (including Sisymbrium bourgeanum),
Diplotaxis tennuisiliqua and Biscutella didyma. Photos taken in farm of University of Tripoli,Tripoli- Libya (32.847277, 13.223261).
Long-tailed Blue butterfly
The Peablue, Pea Blue, or (Lampides boeticus) is a small butterfly found in Europe, Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and Australia that belongs to the Lycaenids or gossamer-winged family.The wingspan is 24–32 mm for males and 24–34 mm for females. The larvae feed on flowers, seeds and pods of many Fabaceae species, including Medicago, Crotalaria, Polygala,
Sutherlandia, Dolichos,Cytisus, Spartium and Lathyrus species. Photos taken in Agar city, Wadi Ash-Shati, south Libya (27.529654, 14.159466).
Lang's Short-tailed Blue
Leptotes pirithous is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. Its common names are Lang's Short-tailed Blue and Common Zebra Blue.
Leptotes pirithous is a small butterfly with a wingspan of 21–29 mm in males and 24–30 mm in females. The uppersides of the wings are purple bluish in males, bluish-brown in female. The undersides are dark beige striped with white lines. The hindwings show marginal orange and black spots and two small tails. For the design of the undersides of the wings they can be confused with Lampides boeticus and Cacyreus marshalli. These butterflies fly from February to November depending on the location. They are regular migrants. This species can be found in southern Europe, along the Mediterranean coast, in most of Africa.
.
The Bath White Butterfly
Pontia daplidice is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae. It is common in central and southern Europe and North Africa migrating northwards every summer, often reaching southern Scandinavia and sometimes southern England.The Bath White is a small white butterfly with a wingspan of 45 to 50 mm. The underside of the hindwing has a pattern of greenish blotches, which is characteristic of the Bath Whites and easily identifies it from other periods. Photos taken in Garboli area, Tripoli- Libya (32.788046, 13.581372).
The Painted Lady Butterfly
Vanessa cardui, the Cynthia group of colourful butterflies, commonly called painted ladies, comprises a subgenus of the genus Vanessa in the Family Nymphalidae. They are well known throughout most of the world. In general, the Painted Lady is a large butterfly (wing span 5–9 cm (2.0–3.5 in)) identified by the black and white corners of its mainly deep orange, black-spotted wings. It has five white spots in the black forewing tips and while the orange areas may be pale here and there, there are no clean white dots in them. The hindwings carry four small submarginal eyespots on dorsal and ventral sides. Those on the dorsal side are black, but in the summer morph sometimes small blue pupils are present in some. Photos taken in Agar city, Wadi Ash-Shati, south Libya (27.529654, 14.159466).