Brush-footed Butterflies

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Subphylum: Hexapoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Lepidoptera

Family: Nymphalidae

With around 6,000 species, this is the largest family of butterflies. Many species, like the monarch butterfly, are very colorful.

Butterflies in this family are called brush-foots because of their tiny forelegs. Their front two legs look more like brushes than feet and are not used for walking.

Many species in this family have some brown or orange on their wings and veins on their forewings. Most species have long antennae with rounded clubs at the end. Most of the caterpillars in this family are colorful and covered with spines or hair.