Glasswings

Butterfly populations are a very good indicator of the health of an area's ecosystem !!

Also known by the Spanish name: Espejitos (mirror)

    Glasswings look extremely delicate, but have the ability to carry nearly 40 times their own weight. They are extremely fast, and can fly almost eight  miles per hour for short intervals.
    Unlike their other cousins, who display their dark-colored scales to ward off  predators, the glasswing butterflies protect thenselves by using their translucency to hide them. 

   Female Glasswings, when possible, will lay their eggs on the leaves of the Cestrum plant.

(More recognizable as the Nightshade plant, which is highly poisonous.)

   The caterpillars, which are bright purple and red to warn predators to stay away, eat this plant , which makes them very toxic to predators.

   This toxicity carries over to the adult butterflies,  making them very unattractive to predators as well.

   This toxicity, combined with the camouflage affect of the clear wings, is a very good defense for Glasswings against predation. 

Avg. Body Length: 2.8 cm / 1.1 "

Avg. Wing Size 5.6 to 6.1 centimetres (2.2 to 2.4 in)

Diet: adults enjoy the tasty nectar of flowers from the Asteraceae and Boraginaceae families. They also eat bird droppings to get the amino acids.

Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Arthropoda

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Class: Insecta, Order: Lepidoptera

The single biggest threat to butterfly survival is habitat destruction!!