Red and black butterfly species exist around the globe. Some prettiest kinds with black markings include Red admiral, Black swallowtail, Strawberry checkerspot, or Red-bordered pixie.
1. Red Admiral Butterfly
Red admiral (Vanessa atalanta) belongs to the family Nymphalidae, subfamily Nymphalinae. This butterfly has a black upper side with white spots close to its apex. The forewings and hindwings have red median bands. Its wingspan is 1 3/4 to 3 inches (4.5 to 7.6 cm).
Red admiral frequents yards, parks, seeps, moist fields, woods, and marshes. It might also be around the mud, puddling for minerals. When migrating, it can be seen in any habitat, including tundra and subtropics.
This butterfly is present in Guatemala, Mexico, the US, northern Canada, and some Caribbean Islands. It can also be found in New Zealand, Europe, Asia, and northern parts of Africa. Southern migrants recolonize most of North America each spring.
2. Black Swallowtail Butterfly
The Black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) belongs to the family Papilionidae, subfamily Papilioninae. These butterflies are known for their tails. Black swallowtail has mostly black wings. The inner edge of its hindwings has a reddish spot. Males have yellow bands near the wings’ edges, while females have rows of yellow spots. Its wingspan ranges from wingspan: 3 1/4 to 4 1/4 inches (8 to 11 cm).
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This species of Swallowtail visits many types of open areas, such as marshes, fields, and roadsides. It’s also common in the suburbs.
It frequents Quebec, Saskatchewan, and some areas in South America. Its US range includes Colorado and California.
3. Snowberry Checkerspot Butterfly
Snowberry checkerspot (Euphydryas colon) belongs to the family Nymphalidae. This butterfly has a variable color pattern. Usually, its upperside is black with many cream-colored and reddish spots along the wing margin. Its forewings have two reddish bars surrounded by pale yellow.
The underside of the wings is more reddish, with a yellowish checkerspot pattern located mostly on the hindwings. This butterfly is similar to the Bay checkerspot.
You may notice these butterflies flying around mountains, foothills, open woodlands, meadows, forest roadsides, streams, and sagebrush steppe.
Its main range includes:
- Central Washington
- Montana
- California
- Western Nevada
- Central Arizona
4. Red-Bordered Pixie Butterfly
The Red-bordered pixie (Melanis pixe) is a butterfly species from the family Riodinidae, subfamily Riodininae. Its wings are black, with 4 easy-to-notice spots, 2 on the hindwings and 2 on the forewings, close to the butterfly’s body. The upper side of the hindwings also has a red border, while the tips of the forewings are bright yellow. The wingspan ranges from 1 1/2 to 1 7/8 inches (3.8 to 4.4 cm).
Red-bordered pixie lives around lowland riparian tropical forests and city parks. It may also be present in areas where citruses grow, as those are the caterpillar host plants.
Its range includes the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas and south toward Costa Rica.
5. Doris Longwing Butterfly
Doris longwing (Heliconius doris viridis) is a species of butterflies from the family Nymphalidae, subfamily Heliconiinae. This beautiful butterfly is a member of the Longwing kind, including 71 species further divided into 7 local subspecies. They come in many color variations.
The upper side of the wings is orange near the body and black near the wing tips. Hindwings have more prominent black veins laid upon the reddish background. Some species have white patterns on each of the forewings. Doris often mimics other butterflies, especially Heliconius melpomene and erato — Postman and Small postman butterflies.
Forest clearings at 3,940 feet (1,200 m) elevations are its ideal habitat. It’s also present in sunny open lands, rainforests, and slow-flowing streams.
This butterfly is usually found in Mexico and Bolivia.
6. Postman Butterfly
Postman butterfly (Heliconius melpomene) belongs to the family Nymphalidae, subfamily Heliconius. This is a predominantly black butterfly with almost completely black ventral sides. On the other hand, the uppersides are black with reddish lines on the hindwings and red patterns on the forewings, similar to Doris longwing. Still, this butterfly has no white areas.
Postman butterfly often visits open areas and forest edges and can be seen near rivers and streams.
Its home is Central America, South America, and the slopes of the Andes mountains.
7. Peacock Butterfly
The Peacock butterfly (Aglais io), from the family Nymphalidae, is a gorgeous reddish butterfly with big blue/white eyespots on all of its wings. It also has some black patterns close to the eyespot on the forewings, which give it a unique appearance. The underside is dark brown, making the butterfly look like dead leaves.
This butterfly frequents grasslands, farmlands, coastal areas, woodlands, towns, and gardens. It’s also seen around the nettle, as that’s the caterpillar host.
Peacock is common around:
- Britain
- Ireland
- Russia
- Eastern Siberia
- Korea
- Japan
- Turkey
- Northern Iran
What is the meaning of a red butterfly?
People associate red butterflies with love and romance. These butterflies symbolize a lover’s promise, but may also mean desire and passion. In some cultures, red butterflies are considered a bad omen.
Mileva is a friendly butterfly and nature lover. She enjoys spending time outdoors and getting to know different types of insects, animals and plants. She’s always curious and learning new things, and she shares her love of nature on Butterfly Hobbyist.