Owl Butterfly (Caligo sp.)
Owl butterflies are HUGE - they have a wingspan of about eight inches (20 cm)!
Like several other rainforest animals, the Owl Butterfly has a special feature that allows it to escape predators. For this butterfly, the defense is a giant eye spot on each of its hind wings. When the butterfly spreads its wings, the two eyes look like an Owl's face. Little birds that eat butterflies get eaten by owls, so they fly away from the scary butterfly.
These butterflies eat banana leaves when they're young. The caterpillar is very, very ugly, but look at the beautiful butterfly it becomes!
Another beautiful butterfly of the rainforest is called a Morpho, and it has neon-blue upper wings. When it closes its wings, the undersides look like an Owl Butterfly's, but when it opens them you can see the bright blue tops. |