Please wait while the next page arrives.
Mila'sExotic Plants & CuriositiesA living collection by Luminary OdditiesLuminary Oddities · Natural history & art
Rhetus periander
Lepidoptera / Riodinidae
Rhetus periander is a long-tailed metalmark with blue fields on black upperwings and red hindwing markings. Its brown underside carries pale longitudinal stripes, giving the folded specimen a markedly different pattern.
Read the species account
Rhetus periander is a riodinid butterfly named by Cramer in 1777. Papilio periander is the original generic combination. [1]
Males have broad, curved hindwing tails. The upperwings are black with extensive blue inner fields and red hindwing spots. Beneath, brown wings carry longitudinal white stripes, with red forewing lines and red spots near the bases of the hindwing tails. [1]
Adults fly rapidly and may rest in sunshine on the ground or low vegetation. They take nectar and visit mineral deposits along stream banks. [1]
Keep the enclosure closed and display it in indirect light, away from heat and damp conditions. Handle the frame by its edges and clean only its exterior according to the maker’s instructions.
Amazonian Butterflies field guide, INPA collection-linked specimen account · Accessed 2026-10-11
Warren and colleagues, Butterflies of America · Accessed 2026-10-11
Sources checked 2026-10-11. Illustrations · Luminary Oddities.
Return to the Entomological Atlas ↑
