Red admiral
English
This butterfly’s wingspan ranges from 5.5 to 6 cm. Its forewings are black with white spots and a red stripe. Its lower wings are marbled brown and black, with an orange spot on the edge.
Lepidoptera
English
Question mark
English
The question mark is one of the largest and loveliest of the Polygonia butterflies. Its wings are rust-coloured with many black and pale lilac spots close to the edges. The silver mark shaped like a question mark on the underside of its lower wings is where it gets its English and Latin name. A narrow lilac band runs around the edge of the top side of its wings, while the underside is a uniform shade of rust. The butterfly’s wingspan ranges from 4.5 to 6.5 cm.
Mourning cloak
English
This large butterfly has a wingspan of 6 to 8 cm. Its wings are purplish brown, with a line of blue spots along a yellow border. Males and females look alike.
Painted lady
English
This beautiful butterfly has orange wings with black and white spots. The brown colouring of the butterfly’s thorax extends to the inner area of its wings. The back of its wings is lighter in colour and the edge of the lower wing has a row of eyespots.
White admiral
English
The caterpillar and chrysalid of this butterfly look like bird droppings, which protects them from predators. Adults have two pairs of black wings with white stripes. The edge of their bottom wings features reddish-orange and blue spots. The front and back of their wings are different colours, but both sides feature white bands that look like an admiral’s stripes. Their wingspan ranges from 47 to 78 mm. Females look like males, except slightly bigger.
Brush-footed butterflies
English
All brush-footed butterflies have an atrophied first pair of feet that are covered with long hairs, like the bristles of a brush. Because of this, they are easy to identify, as they walk on four legs instead of six like other butterflies.
Tent caterpillars
English
Lasiocampidae is a family of moths of various sizes whose colour is generally dark, with stripes in different shades of brown. Some species are shaped like leaves. Their bodies often look too big for their wings. Their proboscis is reduced in size and non-functional.
Caterpillars are very hairy, and the sides of their bodies often have tufts of longer hair.
Isabella tiger moth
English
The caterpillar, called a “woolly bear caterpillar” because of its fuzzy appearance, is black at the ends and rust-coloured in the middle. It lives alone and is about 4 cm long.
Modest sphinx moths
English
These are large moths, with a wingspan of 9 to 14 cm. The forewings are marked with bands alternating between grey and brown. The hindwings are reddish, and bluish-grey at the base.
Mature female caterpillars can reach 9 cm. Male caterpillars are generally shorter (7.5 cm).
Hummingbird moths
English
These stocky moths have a wingspan of 3.8 to 5.5 cm and a relatively long proboscis. The narrow, pointed forewings are much larger than the hindwings. All four wings have patches free of scales, except on the veins. These transparent sections are surrounded by a border varying in colour from purplish-red to dark brown. The base of the wings and the front half of the body are olive green, as is the abdomen, which also has reddish bands.
