Alex Hyde / Common Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio machaon) resting on Viper's Bugloss / Blueweed (Echium vulgare) in alpine meadow. Nordtirol, Tirol, Austrian Alps, Austria, 1700 metres altitude, July.

Stephen Dalton / Scarce bamboo page butterfly {Philaethria dido} in flight, from Venezualan cloudforest

Colin Varndell / Red Admiral Butterfly (Vanessa atalanta) on Michaelmas daisy flowers. Dorset, UK, October 2012.

Stephen Dalton / Monarch butterfly {Danaus plexippus} flight sequence, multiflash image

Ross Hoddinott / Marsh fritillary butterfly (Euphydryas aurinia) close-up of wing detail, Dunsdon, near Holsworthy, Devon, UK, June 2012.

Ross Hoddinott / Small pearl bordered fritillary butterfly (Boloria selene) portrait, Marsland Mouth, North Devon, UK. May.

Denis-Huot / Blue morpho butterfly (Morpho peleides) Hacienda Baru, Costa Rica

Jussi Murtosaari / Northern Chequered Skipper butterfly (Carterocephalus silvicola) on flower, male, central Finland, June.

Stephen Dalton / Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) female in flight. Did you know? Monarch buttterflies migrate up to 2500 miles from Mexico to Canada.

Stephen Dalton / Clouded yellow butterfly {Colias crocea} in flight over thistle flowers, UK

Stephen Dalton / Gulf Fritillary Butterfly (Agraulis vanillae) flying near cactus. Everglades, Florida, USA

Stephen Dalton / Red admiral butterfly (Vanessa atalanta) on Buddleia flowers, UK

Stephen Dalton / Brimstone butterfly (Gonepteryx rhamni) on Bluebell flower, UK

Stephen Dalton / Painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui) on Buddleia flowers, UK

Andy Sands / Brimstone butterfly (Goneopteryx rhamni) male on Oxlip flower in spring, UK, Captive, March

Colin Varndell / Orange Tip Butterflies (Anthocharis cardamines) at rest on a background of purple flowers. Dorset, UK, April.

Ross Hoddinott / 2020VISION / Orange Tip butterfly {Anthocharis cardamines} female resting on Cuckooflower {Cardamine pratensis}, north Devon, UK. April

Konrad Wothe / Tropical Butterfly (Adepha) on a leaf with wings spread. Danum Valley, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia.

Konrad Wothe / Cairns birdwing butterfly (Ornithoptera priamus) male on fern leaf and Blue Mountain Swallowtail butterfly in flight, Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, Australia, October

LYNN M. STONE / Common buckeye butterfly (Junonia coenia) North Guilford, Connecticut, USA, August

MYN / Paul Harcourt Davies / Two-tailed pasha butterfly (Charaxes jasius) butterfly recently emerged from chrysalis, emergence sequence 8/15, Umbria, Italy, August . meetyourneighbours.net project

MYN / Paul Harcourt Davies / Caterpillar larva of Southern festoon butterfly (Zerynthia polyxena cassandra) on foodplant (Aristolochia rotundifolia) Italy, May. meetyourneighbours.net project

Ross Hoddinott / 2020VISION / Large blue butterfly (Maculinea arion) on a Common Centaury (Centaurium erythraea) flower, Collard Hill, Somerset, England, UK, June 2011. Did you know? The large blue's life cycle is dependent on the...

Luiz Claudio Marigo / Cramers eighty-eight butterfly (Diaethria clymena) resting with wings folded, Brazil.

Alex Hyde / Caterpillar of Purple Emperor Butterfly (Apatura iris) camouflaged, leaf mimicry. Captive, UK.

Alex Hyde / Purple Emperor Butterfly (Apatura iris) male on English Oak (Quercus robur) leaf basking with wings open. Captive, UK

Terry Whittaker / 2020VISION / Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio machaon britannicus) feeding on hawkbit flower. Strumpshaw Fen, Norfolk, June.Did you know? Swallowtail butterflies are the largest species of butterfly in the UK - with...

Ross Hoddinott / Silver-studded blue butterfly (Plebejus argus) pair mating, resting on a Pyrimidal orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis) flower, Gwithian Towans, Cornwall, UK, July.

Claudio Contreras / Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) hibernating, Mariposa Monarca Special Biosphere Reserve, central Mexico, January.

Colin Varndell / Peacock butterfly (Inachis io) on nettle leaves

Ross Hoddinott / Marbled White butterfly (Melanargia galathea) at rest, Dunsdon Nature Reserve, Devon, UK. July.

John Cancalosi / Blue Morpho (Morpho peleides) caterpillar about to enter pupal stage. Sequence 1 of 9. Costa Rica.

John Cancalosi / Blue Morpho (Morpho peleides) end of pupal stage with chrysalis opening. Sequence 5 of 9. Costa Rica.

John Cancalosi / Blue Morpho (Morpho peleides) with wings open showing irridescent blue. Costa Rica.

John Cancalosi / Blue Morpho (Morpho peleides) butterfly after emerging from crysalis with wings now fully extended. Sequence 9 of 9. Costa Rica.

Stephen Dalton / White morpho (Morpho polythemus) in flight~controlled condtiions, from South American Rainforest

Adrian Davies / Tree Nymph butterfly (Idea leuconoe) captive in butterfly house, native to South East Asia

Stephen Dalton / Morpho butterfly (Morpho peleides) in flight, controlled conditions.

Paul Harcourt Davies / Common Swallowtail (Papilio machaon) caterpillar on fennel in garden, Orvieot, Italy, June

Paul Harcourt Davies,Paul Harcourt Davies / Apollo butterfly (Parnasius apollo) feeding on flower, Mount Terminillo, Rieti, Lazio, Italy, July 2011

Paul Harcourt Davies / Common Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio machaon) backlit, Podere Montecucco, Orvieto, Umbria, Italy, September

Paul Harcourt Davies / Swallowtail butterfly (Papilo machaon) close-up of wings. Orvieto, Italy, March

MYN / Paul Harcourt Davies / Common Swallowtail (Papilio machaon) in garden, Orvieto, Italy. October. Meetyourneighbours.net project

Radomir Jakubowski / Marbled white butterfly (Melanargia galathea) on Horsetail (Equisetum), Herbitzheim near Saarbruecken, Saarland, Germany. Finalist in the Macro category and winner of the audience award in the Montpho...

Benjamin Barthelemy / Common clouded yellow butterfly (Colias Crocea), Reserve Naturelle de la Vallee des Cailles, Eure-et-Loir, France, July.

Wild Wonders of Europe / Widstrand / Woodcock orchid (Ophrys cornuta/scolopax) with mating Black veined white butterflies (Aporia crataegi), Bela Reka, Eastern Rhodope Mountains, Bulgaria, May 2013.

Kim Taylor / Orange-tip Butterfly (Anthocharis cardamines) egg on Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) sequence from new laid to hatch. Read from top left. Surrey, England. Digital composite

Konrad Wothe / Butterflies (Phoebis sp) puddling near Tambopata river, Tambopata National Reserve, Peru, South America.

Konrad Wothe / Menelaus Blue Morpho (Morpho menelaus) puddling at dead insect bodies, butterfly in rainforest, Tambopata Reserve, Peru, South America.

Loic Poidevin / Two Postman butterflies (Heliconius melpomene) mating, captive, native to Brazil.

Jussi Murtosaari / Green-Underside Blue butterfly (Glaucopsyche alexis) male, central Finland, June.

Jussi Murtosaari / Northern Chequered Skipper, (Carterocephalus silvicola), female on flower

Jussi Murtosaari / Map Butterfly (Araschnia levana) feeding on anthemis, second generation, southern Finland, July.

Jussi Murtosaari / Lesser Marbled Fritillary butterfly (Brenthis ino) flyingover meadow habitat, Joutsa (formerly Leivonmaki), Finland, July.

Jussi Murtosaari / False Heath Fritillary butterfly (Melitaea diamina) female on buttercup, Pirkanmaa, Finland, June.

Jussi Murtosaari / Northern Chequered Skipper butterfly (Carterocephalus silvicola) male on flower, central Finland, June.

Jussi Murtosaari / Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio machaon) flying in habitat, central Finland, June.

Jussi Murtosaari / Scarce Copper (Lycaena virgaureae) male in meadow on ox-eye daisy, Joutsa (formerly Leivonmaki), Finland, July.

Ernie Janes / Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea 'rubinstern') with feeding Peacock butterfly (Inachis io) in garden, England, UK, August

Jabruson / Western Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) silverback skull with butterfly (Belenois theszi). Gorilla diedd from the Ebola Virus, which killed 128 people in the region in 2003 and in 2005 killed 95% of the Gor...

Ross Hoddinott / Marbled white butterfly (Melanargia galathea) resting on reed, Devon, UK, July.

Ross Hoddinott / Small tortoiseshell butterfly (Aglais urticae) resting on heather, Westhay, Somerset Levels, UK, August.

Bernard Castelein / Three Silver studded blue butterflies (Plebejus argus) covered in dew, Klein Schietveld, Brasschaat, Belgium

Rod Williams / Green-veined white butterfly (Pieris napi) with slightly damaged forewing feeding on ragwort, Brockley Cemetery, Lewisham, UK, August.

Michel Poinsignon / Berger's Clouded Yellow Butterfly (Colias alfacariensis) pair mating, Ottange, Lorraine, France, October.

Ross Hoddinott / Small pearl bordered fritillary butterfly (Boloria selene), Marsland Mouth, North Devon, UK. May.

Paul Hobson / Small tortoiseshell butterfly (Aglais urticae) on stain glass window of church, Sheffield, England, UK. Commended in the Other Animals Category of the GDT competition 2014.

Alex Hyde / Purple emperor butterfly (Apatura iris) male on English Oak (Quercus robur) leaf basking with wings open, UK, Captive.

Nick Upton / 2020VISION / Comma butterfly (Polygonium c-album) feeding on Verbena (Verbena bonariensis) flowers in garden, Wiltshire, England, UK, September . Property released.

Alex Hyde / Peacock butterfly (Inachis io) and Small tortoiseshell butterflies (Aglais urticae) feeding on Buddleia flowers (Buddleia davidii), Derbyshire, UK, September.

Russell Cooper / Green Hairstreak Butterfly (Callophrys rubi) at rest on Black Medick (Medicago lupulina) Surrey, England, UK

Paul Harcourt Davies / Scarce Copper butterfly (Heodes / Lycaena virgaureae) feeding on nectar rich flowering plants in Alpine meadow, Apennine mountains, Italy, Europe

Michele Westmorland / Frangipani hornworm / hawk moth (Pseudosphinx tetrio) on flowering foliage, Tobago, Caribbean.

Robert Thompson / Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio machaon brittannicus) resting on flag iris, Norfolk Broads, UK June

Stephen Dalton / Adonis blue butterfly (Polyommatus bellargus) on flowers, UK

Luiz Claudio Marigo / Periander metalmark / Periander swordtail butterfly (Rhetus periander) sucking water with mineral salts from the ground on the margin of Cristalino River, Alta Floresta, Mato Grosso State, Brazil.

Andy Sands / Small Copper butterfly (Lycaena phlaeas) on Fleabane flower, Hertfordshire, England, UK

PREMAPHOTOS / Gold-banded forester butterfly (Euphaedra neophron) male (left) courting female, in tropical dry forest, Kenya

Steven David Miller / Australian birdwing butterfly {Ornithoptera priamus} male on flower. Captive. Australia.

AFLO / ic-16001 Small copper butterflies on tulip {Lycaena phlaeas}

DAVID TIPLING / Mosaic of mixed tropical butterfly wings