Red-Spotted Purple Butterfly Limenitis arthemis astyanax. Insect. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright © 2025 Now I Wonder. All rights reserved.

Complete Guide To The Red-Spotted Purple Butterfly

ByChristine Species Guides

Red-Spotted Purple Butterfly

Red-Spotted Purple Butterfly Images

How To Identify Red-Spotted Purple Butterflies

  • Red-Spotted Purple Butterflies are large North Carolina butterflies with wingspans up to 4 inches (10.2 cm).
  • Above:
    • Both wings are velvety midnight blue at base.
    • Forewings have small, very faint, red-orange spots near wing tips.
    • Hind wings shade to bright, pale, iridescent blue-purple scaling with a midnight blue band and iridescent blue markings at trailing edge.
  • Below:
    • Dark brown overall with large, red-orange spots at both fore- and hind wing bases.
    • Hind wings have red-orange spots along the outer margin.
  • Red-Spotted Purple Butterflies live throughout North Carolina but are not very abundant.
    • Look for them in forests and along the edges of woodlands.
    • Red-Spotted Purple Butterflies prefer rotting fruit, sap, carrion, and dung to sipping nectar from flowers so are uncommon home garden visitors.

Red-Spotted Purple Butterfly Classification

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Lepidoptera

Family

Nymphalidae (Brush-foot Butterflies)

Genus

Limenitis

Species

L. arthemis astyanax

Binomial Name

Limenitis arthemis astyanax

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Christine
Christine is the creator and author of NowIWonder.com, a website dedicated to the animals and plants that share our world, and the science that helps us understand them. Inspired by lifelong exploration and learning, Christine loves to share her knowledge with others who want to connect with wild faces and wild spaces.
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