Both Sides Of A Butterfly

A Red-spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis). This is the ventral side of this butterfly. Wings up and closed. You are seeing the bottom side of its wings.

And this is the dorsal side of a Red-spotted Purple. The top side. As in this species of butterfly, butterflies often have very different looks, dorsal and ventral sides.

The dorsal side of a butterflies’ wings are often used in sexual signaling and for luring mates.

The ventral side of a butterflies’ wings are often used for camouflage to avoid predators.

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Published by

Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.