Treasure of the month

March 2017

Extinct Urania butterfly

It is a Caribbean beauty, but is considered extinct since the beginning of the 19th century. The beautiful large butterfly (6.4 - 7.6 cm) Uranius sloanus was a diurnal butterfly found only in Jamaica. The butterfly, like many other animals, became a victim of habitat destruction. It was probably deprived of its livelihood when its food plants were cleared. A pair of this beautiful species can be admired in our insect collection at LIB.

Photo: The underside (right) of Uranius sloanus is also beautiful. Photo: UHH/ CeNak