Mosaic, Colobura dirce

This is one of my favourite tropical butterflies - I love the pattern on the underside of the wings. Taken on 8 September 2011 in the ENMAX Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo. This one had landed on a rather dirty window.

This species, known as the Mosaic or Zebra Mosaic, (Colobura dirce) is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Central America and northern South America.

"The butterflies habitually sit on the tree trunks in a head downwards posture, at a height of about 2 metres, to imbibe sap and moisture from crevices in the bark. If approached they sometimes try to evade the intruder by running around to the opposite side of the tree, and if followed will run back to their original position - quite literally forcing the observer to run around in circles after them. They are extremely reluctant to take flight when feeding, and if they are forced to do so they quickly return to resume feeding."

www.learnaboutbutterflies.com/Amazon%20-%20Colobura%20dir...