A number on its wings
The black lines on the underside of the hindwing form a clear 88, or sometimes 89.
The cloud forest · Butterflies and moths
Eighty-eight butterfly
Diaethria
A small butterfly. With its wings closed, it shows the number 88 in black on white, below a band of red.
- Size
- Wingspan about 4cm
- Look for it
- All year round
- Where
- Forests and river banks from Mexico to Argentina
Skips after you, quick and bright. Move your pointer and see.
When to look
Eighty-eight
Good to know
Six things about the eighty-eight
Quite different on top
The upper side is black with a band of shining blue-green. You only see the number when it lands and shuts its wings.
It likes your sweat
It lands on people to drink the salt from their skin, and on wet rocks and mud for the same reason.
Fast and jerky
It flies quickly and changes direction all the time, which makes it very hard to catch.
Why the number?
The bold pattern is thought to confuse a bird about which end is the head.
A dozen cousins
There are about twelve kinds, each with a slightly different number.
The real thing
Photos of the eighty-eight
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Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
How to spot one
Look on damp sand by a stream, on wet rocks, and on your own rucksack. It sits with wings closed, showing the number. Take an adult with you.
How to help
It is common wherever some forest and clean streams remain.
Keep going
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