Although there are over 17,500 species of butterflies in the world, only about 4% of them can be found in the US, with the most often sighted being the cabbage white butterfly.
Therefore, it’s no surprise that insect breeder and photographer Diana Murguta is getting so much attention lately on social media, since she is sharing the rarest and most mesmerizing ones.
More info: Instagram
#1 Idea Leuconoe
Ricepaper butterflies, also known as paper kites or tree nymphs, are found in Malaysia, Taiwan and the Philippines, in lowland rainforests and coastal mangrove forests. These large, striking butterflies have translucent white wings patterned with black streaks and spots and their patterns serve to warn predators that they are poisonous.
Image credits: @dianamurguta
#2 Pachliopta Kotzebuea
The upper side of this butterfly's wings is contrastingly black, while the lower one has red spots. This mesmerizing beauty can be found in the Philippines.
Image credits: @dianamurguta
#3 Papilio Palinurus
The emerald swallowtail, also known as the banded peacock or emerald peacock, is native to the primary forests of southeast Asia. This species got this name due the bright emerald green band that runs across each of its dark greenish-black wings.
Image credits: @dianamurguta
Diana’s Instagram is covered in colorful photos and videos of butterflies. From dark velvety or almost fluorescent colors to almost completely transparent textures - all of them are captivating in a different way.
The butterflies seem to like Diana’s company, since she is always very gentle and careful with these mesmerizing creatures.
#4 Papilio Memnon
The Great Mormon is a swallowtail butterfly living in the Malay Archipelago and Indonesia.
Image credits: @dianamurguta
#5 Ornithoptera
This genus includes the two largest butterfly species in the world, which are the Queen Alexandra's birdwing and the Goliath birdwing. Ornithoptera butterflies are truly loved by insect collectors because they are rare, large, and stunningly beautiful, arguably the most beautiful butterflies in the world.
Image credits: @dianamurguta
#6 Protogoniomorpha Temora
The blue mother-of-pearl or eastern blue beauty is a butterfly which can be found in Nigeria, Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, Angola, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Sudan and Ethiopia.
Image credits: @dianamurguta
Probably one of the most interesting ones is Kallima inachus - a butterfly that can instantly turn into a dead leaf.
Back in the 1800s, naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace collected these butterflies in Southeast Asia and his research suggested that the butterflies gradually evolved to look like leaves to escape hungry birds.
Yet some other scientists would propose alternative explanations that their transformation originated suddenly, without intermediate forms.
#7 Argema Mimosae
This is the African moon moth, a giant silk moth of the family Saturniidae, which can be found widely in Eastern Africa and more locally in Southern Africa, including near the east coast of South Africa.
Image credits: @dianamurguta
#8 Kallima Inachus
Kallima inachus, the orange oakleaf, Indian oakleaf or dead leaf, is a nymphalid butterfly ranging from India to Japan. The are experts in hiding - when open, their wings feature bright oranges, blues and blacks, but when closed, they look like dead leaves.
Image credits: @dianamurguta
#9 Catonephele Numilia
This butterfly usually flies along the ground and close to the ripe fruits and flowers and can be found in Central and South America.
Image credits: @dianamurguta
Another extraordinary butterfly to mention could be Queen Alexandra's birdwing. They are known as the biggest butterflies in the world, reaching an impressive wingspan of 27 centimeters.
The largest ever recorded had a wingspan of 27.3 centimeters, and is kept in the Natural History Museum's Lepidoptera collections in London.
When it comes to the highest-flying one, no one can beat Piercolias forsteri. They can be found in the high Andes mountains of Bolivia in South America, about 4,200 meters above sea level.
#10 Methona Confusa
This spectacular glass butterfly can be found in some Central and South American countries in regions with forests and mountains.
Image credits: @dianamurguta
#11 Attacus Atlas, Cobra Moth
The Atlas moth, also known as a "snake's head," due to the cobra-like design on its upper wings, is one of the largest moths in the world with a maximum wingspan of about 10 inches. The Atlas moth lives in Asia, from India to the Philippines and south to Indonesia.
Image credits: @dianamurguta
#12 The Menelaus Blue Morpho
It is among the largest butterflies in the world, with wings spanning from 5 to 8 inches. When they fly, the contrasting bright blue and dull brown colors flash, making it look like the morphos are appearing and disappearing.
Image credits: @dianamurguta
While all the butterflies have the same life cycle through four key stages of metamorphosis, from egg to larva to pupa and eventually into adult butterfly, their life cycle can vary from just over 30 days to over 200 days for the monarch!
It's interesting to mention that migrating monarchs live up to 9 months, while the ones that don’t migrate live only 2 to 5 weeks.
Some monarchs fly for over 3000 miles on their migratory journeys and can reach speeds up to 50km/hr. It turns out, these butterflies have a tiny built-in magnetic compass, which helps them to sense the Earth’s magnetic field, this way finding the right direction to travel in any weather.
#13 Diana's Videos Of Colorful Butterflies Are Mesmerizing People From All Around The World
The butterflies seem to like Diana's company since she is always so gentle with them.
Image credits: @dianamurguta
#14 Papilio Rumanzovia
This scarlet Mormon or red Mormon butterfly can be found in the Philippines but has been recorded as a vagrant to southern Taiwan.
Image credits: @dianamurguta
#15 Hypolimnas Monteironis
The species was first described by Herbert Druce in 1874 and can be found in Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
Image credits: @dianamurguta
Due to butterflies’ metamorphosis, they are significant symbols of transformation, freedom, and rebirth in many cultures.
For example in Ireland and Germany, butterflies were thought to be souls of children, while in Japan, they are connected with deceased spirits, and can be seen as both a positive and negative omen depending on the person.
“Butterflies are nature’s angels. They remind us what a gift it is to be alive,” Robyn Nola once said and, thanks to butterfly whisperer Diana Murguta, all of us can take a glimpse at the most fragile and the most mesmerizing ones!
#16 The Emerald Swallowtail
This species got its name from the bright emerald green band that runs across each of its dark greenish-black wings.
Image credits: @dianamurguta
#17 Samia Cynthia
Originally from China, in the late 1800s, it was brought to the United States to develop the silk industry.
Image credits: @dianamurguta
#18 Mariposa Cometa Cebra
Image credits: @dianamurguta
#19 Ornithoptera Priamus
This mesmerizing butterfly can be found in the central and south Moluccas, New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, Solomon Islands, and north-east Australia.
Image credits: @dianamurguta
#20 Papilio Polyxenes
This black swallowtail butterfly can be found throughout southern Canada, most of the eastern and mid-western United States west of the Rocky Mountains, and southwest into Arizona and northern Mexico.
Image credits: @dianamurguta
#21 Siproeta Stelenes
This is a Neotropical brush-footed butterfly which was named for the mineral malachite, similar in color to the bright green on the butterfly's wings.
Image credits: @dianamurguta
#22 Morpho Epistrophus
The white morpho is native to the Atlantic Forest and can be also found in Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina.
Image credits: @dianamurguta
#23 Papilio Nireus
This butterfly, also known as the African blue-banded swallowtail, can be found in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Image credits: @dianamurguta
#24 Flashes of blue color, even from one The Menelaus blue morpho butterfly, can temporarily blind some animals
Image credits: @dianamurguta
#25 The Atlas Moth's massive wingspan is wider than a human hand
Image credits: @dianamurguta
#26 Monarch Butterfly
Monarch butterflies are native to North and South America, are probably some of the most recognizable and well-studied butterflies on the planet. They're known for their marvelous migratory phenomenon - they travel between 1,200 and 2,800 miles or more from the northeast United States and southeast Canada to the mountain forests in central Mexico from the beginning of November to mid-March.
Image credits: @dianamurguta
#27 Cethosia Biblis
This magnificent butterfly can be found in sub-tropical forests.
Image credits: @dianamurguta
#28 Anartia Amathea
This beautiful brown peacock or scarlet peacock butterfly can be found primarily in South America.
Image credits: @dianamurguta
#29 Hypolimnas Misippus
This butterfly is well known for polymorphism and mimicry and is legally protected in India.
Image credits: @dianamurguta
#30 Tirumala Limniace
Often called the blue tiger, this butterfly can be found in South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
Image credits: @dianamurguta
