Pterophorus (Alucita) Pentadactyla

Bzzzz!

We often come across a wide variety of butterflies, but there are a few species from the same family that at first sight we don't even know how to categorise. (Pterophoridae)
Butterflies, mosquitoes, or any other insects at all?

Here we are. Alucita pentadactyla.

The Alucita Pentadactyla is famous for its lightness and delicacy among butterflies, as well as its unique white lacey outfit.
Not only do these butterflies have unusually shaped wings, but they also lack a folding mechanism. Most butterflies can press them against their bodies or fold them over themselves by pressing them against each other. In all Alucitidae family they are strictly perpendicular to the body!

As to me, it looks like a kind of white insect-angel.
Perhaps someone has seen such an angel butterfly somewhere in the fields, although it is not easy to see it, it is usually 20-30 mm in size, likes to settle in cereal fields, and it feeds on flower nectar and pollen.

This butterfly is called five-fingered, because its upper wing is split into two, and the lower one into three lobes resembling feathers. The caterpillar lives on creepers, clover, and strawberries. The butterfly flies at night and, in cloudy weather, during the day, throughout the summer. This beautiful species is widely distributed in European countries with temperate climates and in Asia.

Insecta (Arthropoda - Hexapoda) >> Lepidoptera >> Pterophoridae >> Pterophorus pentadactyla

it's been a string of butterfly luck...
Just recently I was lucky enough to get some nice macro shots of some equally beautiful butterflies of a different species

I invite you to enjoy my other shots of wildlife beauty

Camera Nikon Coolpix W300
Summer 2024 | Ukraine
!only original content your can find in my blog!

And this gif of my ducklings swimming. 🦆

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I wish you all a peaceful sky above your head and stable soil under your feet! Take care of yourself and your loved ones so that we can meet again in the hive!!