Butterfly House London Zoo

These are just some of the species of butterflies in the Butterfly House at London Zoo. And it is well worth visiting to see them flying around your head and to see them perched just inches away.

The butterfly at top left in the gallery and then again with folded wings at top middle is a Tree Nymph. At top right is a Lime butterfly, named because it eats the leaves of citrus species.

Then below left is a Rusty tipped Page, named ‘Page’ because its opened wings look like the opened pages of a book. Well, that’s what they say.

And then bottom left is a Scarlet Mormon.

The original ‘Common Mormon’ was so named because the females appear in multiple forms, a feature known as polymorphism.

That led researchers to jokingly suggest the male had three wives, an allusion to polygamy by the Mormons – as in the sect of humans of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with worldwide headquarters in Salt Lake City.

The name ‘Mormon’ was subsequently used for other similar-looking butterflies in the group, including the Scarlet Mormon.

Click to see bigger versions of the photographs, all of which were taken with an iPhone 16.

About

Both butterflies and moths belong to the same scientific order: Lepidoptera

Within that order, butterflies form a distinct subgroup (often called Rhopalocera), while moths are spread across many different families.

Moth or Butterfly?

Moths generally:

• fly by night
• rest with wings open
• have feathery and thick antennae
• have fat, hairy bodies

Butterflies generally:

• fly by day
• close wings at rest
• have fine-tipped antennae
• have slim bodies