Red pierrot
The red pierrot is a small butterfly dressed like a clown. Underneath, its wings are white with black spots and a wide orange band. On top they are black with a big orange patch. It loves to sit on its favourite plant, the kalanchoe.
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Fun facts
It is a weak flier. It flutters close to the ground and lands often.
It always sits with its wings closed, so everyone can see its bright pattern.
In the evening it settles under leaves and twigs to sleep, often together with others.
It likes shade better than sunshine.
It acts very fearless, as if it tasted bad, but nobody knows of any poison in its food plants.
Most asked questions about Red pierrot
?How big is the red pierrot?
Its wings are about 3 to 3.5 centimetres from tip to tip.
?What does the red pierrot eat?
The butterfly sips nectar. Its caterpillars eat kalanchoe leaves.
?Where does the red pierrot live?
In India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, wherever kalanchoe plants grow.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Talicada nyseus
- Group
- Butterflies
- Family
- Lycaenidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Lycaenidae
- Lives on
- Asia
Where the facts come from
- Talicada nyseus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Kannanshanmugam, shanmugam studio,Kollam. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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