Lesser Purple Emperor resting on my finger and foraging my sweat. I had just taken him out of the garden greenhouse where he was damaging his wings.
The male of the Lesser Purple Emperor has the distinction of having a blue iridescence that appears by exposure to light.
The clytie form for this species has orange stripes on top of its wings while they are white in specimens of Ilia form..
The male of the Lesser Purple Emperor has the distinction of having a blue iridescence that appears by exposure to light.
The clytie form for this species has orange stripes on top of its wings while they are white in specimens of Ilia form.
The male of the Lesser Purple Emperor has the distinction of having a blue iridescence that appears by exposure to light.
The clytie form for this species has orange stripes on top of its wings while they are white in specimens of Ilia form...
The male of the Lesser Purple Emperor has the distinction of having a blue iridescence that appears by exposure to light.
The clytie form for this species has orange stripes on top of its wings while they are white in specimens of Ilia form.
A Lesser Purple Emperor male cleans its antennae in my greenhouse on a tomato plant.
The typical form of a Lesser Purple Emperor male with its white stripes. Placed in the sun on the front porch, he gathers the perspiration that it finds on the shoe. At this time of year the males look for minerals that allow them to attract females.
A Lesser Purple Emperor male sucks the sweat of shoes he found on my porch. At this time of year the males look for minerals that will help them attract females.