The Leopard Lacewing Butterfly (Cethosia cyane) is an insect.

The male and female Leopard Lacewing Butterfly look different. The male is reddish-orange with an irregular black margin and a white line. Its underside is red, white, pale-blue, ochre, and black with a lace edging. Its abdomen is brown. The female is brownish-yellow and paler than the male.

 

It measures about 8 centimetres (3 inches) in length.

The Leopard Lacewing Butterfly is found in India, China, and Indochina in countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand.

The female lays yellow eggs on a plant leaf. The eggs hatch into caterpillars after 5-6 days. The caterpillars take 3-4 weeks to metamorphose into a brown chrysalis, which looks like a dry leaf. The adult butterfly emerges from the chrysalis after about 20 days.

 

Photographer: Martina Nicolls

Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM