Eighty-eight Butterfly vs Karner Blue

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Eighty-eight Butterfly Karner Blue
Scientific Name Diaethria clymena Plebejus samuelis
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Nymphalidae Lycaenidae
Size Wingspan 30-40mm 22-28 mm wingspan
Habitat Forests Deserts & Drylands
Diet Herbivores Omnivores
Regions South America Great Lakes and northeastern United States
Conservation Least Concern Endangered

Eighty-eight Butterfly

A small butterfly with striking black and white markings on its underwings that clearly spell out the number 88 or 89.

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Did You Know?

The number 88 pattern on its wings is so precise that it appears to have been printed making it one of the most photographed butterflies.

Karner Blue

A tiny bright blue butterfly with orange crescents on the hindwing underside that depends entirely on wild lupine. It is a federally endangered species in the United States.

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Did You Know?

It was first described by novelist Vladimir Nabokov, who was also a serious lepidopterist at Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology.