Transparent 6-line Blue Nacaduba kurava

Photo of Transparent 6-line Blue (Nacaduba kurava)

(c) Suzanne Muzic, some rights reserved (CC BY)

OrderButterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera)
FamilyGossamer-winged Butterflies (Lycaenidae)
GenusNacaduba (Nacaduba)

The name tells you everything: this delicate butterfly has wings so translucent they're nearly see-through, and six distinctive pale lines that stripe the wing surfaces with elegant precision. First formally described in 1857 by entomologist Frederic Moore, it's found across a vast range spanning Asia and Australia. The transparency of the wings is genuinely unusual among butterflies and makes spotting them in flight a magical momentβ€”it's like watching a living stained-glass window flutter past.

Think you can identify this one in the wild?

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