Blood-red Cymothoe vs Stable Fly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Blood-red Cymothoe Stable Fly
Scientific Name Cymothoe sangaris Stomoxys calcitrans
Order Lepidoptera Diptera
Family Nymphalidae Muscidae
Size 55-70 mm wingspan 6-8 mm
Habitat Forests Farmland
Diet Blood Feeders Blood Feeders
Regions Central Africa (Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, DRC) Worldwide
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Blood-red Cymothoe

A strikingly sexually dimorphic butterfly where males are vivid blood-red and females are brown with white bands. It is one of the most recognizable butterflies in Central African forests. Flight is relatively slow and gliding.

💡

Did You Know?

The blood-red coloration of males is so vivid that early European explorers initially mistook them for a different species from the brown females.

Stable Fly

A blood-feeding fly that closely resembles the house fly but has a prominent piercing proboscis. It is a painful biter of livestock and humans.

💡

Did You Know?

Unlike house flies, both males and females are blood feeders and deliver a painful bite.