100 BUTTERFLY PICTURES and Big Butterfly Images

Butterfly Pictures and Images

Over 100 free butterfly pictures and large butterfly images. Find close-up, professional butterfly photos, every color of butterfly pics and butterfly facts.

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On this page you will find dozens of free butterfly pictures (which you may use for personal use*). Just right click on the butterfly image you want and save it to your computer. Enjoy!

These are photos of real butterflies. If you are looking for clip art, just go see butterfly clip art.

Table of Contents

You'll find free butterfly pictures and images in each section below, arranged by color. Or, you can just scroll down the page to see all of the butterfly pictures and photos.

TABLE OF CONTENTS - Jump to Section

Black Butterflies

Black and White Butterflies

Blue Butterflies

Brown Butterflies

Green Butterflies

Monarch Butterflies

Orange Butterflies

Orange and Black Halloween Butterflies

Pink Butterflies

Purple Butterflies

Red Butterflies

White Butterflies

Yellow Butterflies

Related Content

Black Butterflies

Black Butterfly

Papilio Rumanzovia Butterfly

The Papilio Rumanzovia in the picture above is also called Scarlet Mormon Butterfly. He lives in the Philippines but sometimes flies over to Taiwan for a vacation holiday.

Many of them are all black, but pink splashes of color are also found in some varieties.

Like all butterflies, the wing colors are actually made up of tiny hairs that grow on scales that form the wings. Look at the butterfly photo above to see a close-up of the wings.

Did You Know?

There are more than 20,000 different kinds of butterflies, each with a different color pattern and a different wing shape!

Black and White Butterflies

This group of butterfly pictures shows black and white patterns in true art deco style with intricate designs.

Each one is a flying work of art.

One of a kind, this real butterfly in a wood frame is an extraordinary accent to contemporary décor.

This is a unique gift for nature lovers and is a stand-alone, true work of art.

Fact About Butterflies

Unlike many other insects, butterflies don't sting and they don't bite. They don't have teeth and they don't have stingers.

Black and White Butterfly

This black and white beauty took a break from his lunch and looked right at the camera in the remarkable butterfly picture below:

Blue Butterflies

Blue Butterfly Pics

Butterfly Facts

Without butterflies to pollinate, many plants and flowers would cease to exist on planet earth.

Butterflies pollinate a much wider area than bees because they fly greater distances.

Willamette Valley Fenders Butterfly

The rare butterfly pictured below is on the endangered species list. It is only found in Western Oregon, U.S.A., and ten years ago there were only 200 known to exist. After efforts on the part of the government to reestablish their natural habitat, the numbers have increased to almost 4,000.

Brown Butterflies

Lange's Metalmark Butterfly

The Lange's Metalmark Butterfly, pictured below, lives exclusively in sand dunes in the San Francisco Bay area. Fifty years ago, the population was estimated at about 25,000 insects.

Because of severe changes in its ecosystem, this specie is on its way to extinction. As the sand dunes were mined for sand and as herbicides were applied to remove vegetation, the butterflies began to disappear.

In 1980, their habitat was designated as the Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge and efforts were made to restore the environment and preserve the insect. Unfortunately, this endangered specie now numbers about 30 adults. It is unlikely that this butterfly will survive.

Two rare photographs are in the butterfly images below:

The Butterfly Garden

Learn what to plant in your backyard garden to attract and nurture butterflies. Planting and maintaining a butterfly garden can be a rewarding family project.

This book, sponsored by the Smithsonian Institute, is splendidly illustrated with pictures and images. It is everything you need to create your personal butterfly wonderland and support the earth's ecosystem, even if you live in an urban area.

Butterfly Facts

Each butterfly eye is made up of many tiny eyes which point in different directions, so a butterfly can see all around at the same time.

They can also see ultraviolet light, which humans cannot see.

And they can see the color red, which is invisible to bees.

The butterfly image above is an extraordinary close-up photo of the face of a butterfly.

Here you can see the proboscis – the butterfly mouthpiece – in its coiled position.

The proboscis works much like an elephant's trunk. It coils when he's not feeding and then it stretches out to drink and feed when he sucks nectar and sap from flowers and plants.

Green Butterflies

Green Butterfly Photos

The green butterfly in the photo below looks just like a variegated leaf!

The Madagascar Sunset only lives on the island of Madagascar. It is actually a moth, a cousin to the butterfly. It is highly prized by collectors because of its exquisite beauty.

A gorgeous, real butterfly from Southeast Asia is a treasure for green lovers everywhere. This natural beauty comes in a wood frame, perfect for a gift.

Butterfly Wings

Butterflies have four wings: two forewings and two hindwings. Their wings, in so many different colors and patterns, make them the most beautiful and most loved of all insects!

Look closely at the butterfly images below and you will see the two sets of wings.

Monarch Butterflies

Monarch Butterflies live in many parts of the world but are most well known for their great numbers in North America.

Every year, they migrate from the United States in August and travel to Mexico for the winter. They swarm in the millions and cover entire trees where they sleep at night. In the spring, they return again to America where their journey began.

The flight is so long that the generation of butterflies which begins the trip is not the one which finishes the return flight.

The Monarch migration is one of nature's fascinating miracles.

Pictures of Monarch Butterflies

Monarch Butterfly

Raise Your Own Monarch Butterflies

Raise your own butterflies in this kit with everything you need. Your shipment of caterpillars comes with food and you will watch in amazement as they grow, form chrysalides, and then hatch into butterflies to be released in your garden or in a neighborhood park.

Children love this creative science project and it can be reused time and time again. It's a great activity for the whole family to enjoy!

It comes with complete instructions and butterfly pics.

Orange Butterflies

Bring the outdoors in with this real butterfly from India. It comes in a wooden frame, perfect for gift-giving. It's a wonderful way to brighten someone's day! It's also a pleasant get-well greeting for someone who is sick or hospitalized (much better than a butterfly photo on a card).

Tiger Butterflies

The Tiger Butterfly is decorated with stripes just like the tiger animal.

It lives in Brazil, but flies northward to Mexico and sometimes as far away as Kansas in the United States.

Peacock Butterflies

The Peacock Butterfly (Inachis io) gets its name from the feathers of the beautiful male peacock bird, which look like they have eyes.

The butterflies are found from England to Japan and are usually a burnt orange color, with 'eyes' of purple, blue, white, gold, orange and black. They are gorgeous models for butterfly photos!

Orange and Black Halloween Butterflies

Have you ever wanted to make a butterfly mask for Halloween?

Of course, you can make a butterfly in any color, but the butterflies below are the perfect pattern to use because they are all orange and black and look like they were made for the holiday.

Just make a mask from one of these butterfly images and dress like a flower, and you'll look just like a butterfly on a flower!

Orange and Black Halloween Butterflies

Orange and Black Butterfly

This is a color-coordinated butterfly! In the photo above, did you notice the little orange beads at the end of his antennae?

Also in the image, notice his proboscis mouthpiece is busily sucking juice from the yellow daisy.

Pink Butterfles

Purple Butterflies

This real butterfly from the highlands of New Guinea is a natural work of art. Stunning home decoration and perfect gift for anyone, this butterfly mounted in flight is awe-inspiring.

Red Butterflies

Red Butterfly

White Butterflies

White Butterfly

Yellow Butterflies

This one-of-a-kind real butterfly encased in acrylic is a whimsical presence in any room. Brighten your day or someone else's with this perfect gift of cheer. It comes packed in a golden gift box.

Did you notice the little bumble bee in the pic above?

Close-up Butterfly Images

In the two close-up, butterfly pictures below, you can clearly see the proboscis extended, sucking nectar from the flowers.

In the first image, the butterfly is looking directly at the photographer for an amazing photo, mimicking that famous quote from the movie Taxi Driver:

"Are you looking at me?"

For shots like these of small, flying insects, all you need is the right camera.

Related Content

Be sure to check out the two great additional resources below.

Miracle of Butterflies Video

Professional Quality Butterfly Pictures

The perfect butterfly picture above was taken by Moe Epsilon at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens in Jacksonville, Florida.

How did he capture such a great shot? It was easier than you might imagine. He used this smartphone:

Samsung Galaxy S II, Model T989, with an 8MP Camera

You'll have professional quality butterfly images with this phone, on sale now with secure ordering from Amazon.com. Grab it while you can at that unbelievable price!

More Pictures of Butterflies

Find more pictures of butterflies in this clip art collection with over 170 big butterfly drawings:

Butterfly Clip Art

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More Images Collections

Butterflies and Roses go together. Find pictures of roses in every color in this collection of free, professional rose photos.

Pictures of Roses

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See this awesome collection of tree photos from around the world, which includes some of the oldest trees on earth:

200 Tree Pictures

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Huge collection of flower clip art with all of your favorite flowers:

Flower Clip Art

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Get more than 200 free pictures of hearts – best collection on the Web:

Pictures of Hearts

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Find more than 200 pictures, images and cards in this great collection for Valentine's Day:

Valentine's Day Pictures

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This collection features over 200 pictures of the spring season. Here you will find professional photos, paintings and graphics of spring:

Spring Pictures

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*All butterfly images on this page may be used for personal use. For permission to use on websites or for other commercial use, contact Writer Fox.

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Comments

Writer Fox (author) from the wadi near the little river on September 10, 2015:

Hi Maggs: You are absolutely right and I made the correction. The difference is that a moth doesn't have the little bead at the end of the antennae.

If you look at the image above the Black Burnet, it is very similar to the butterfly in that photo which is, in fact, a butterfly.

I appreciate your comment and thank you for the information!

maggs224 from Sunny Spain on August 01, 2015:

What a wonderful hub, and such a stunning collection of butterfly photographs.

Thank you for posting such a lovely compilation it must have taken you ages to do.

Voting up and hitting the relevant buttons on my way off the page :D

Just a heads up, and by no means a criticism but the photo you have of the Black Burnet Butterfly (Filipendulae) is actually a moth.

This little fella flies during the daytime, most moths fly at night, and maybe that is why it gets mistaken for a butterfly.

noreen on July 23, 2015:

Its amazing..

Writer Fox (author) from the wadi near the little river on March 08, 2015:

Thank you, Teye. I know that there are beautiful butterflies where you live in Ghana!

teye Foster on February 25, 2015:

teye Fosteryou people did very well congrate

You people did well congrate

!

Writer Fox (author) from the wadi near the little river on January 24, 2015:

Hi Kathleen,

For tattoo, the pictures here will probably be better: https://hubpages.com/entertainment/Butterfly-Clip-...

kathleen on January 23, 2015:

I want to get a tattoo of a butterfly but I'm picky, the zebra one is amazing

Writer Fox (author) from the wadi near the little river on January 16, 2015:

Thank you, Norma! Pink butterflies are actually quite rare. There probably aren't many in Canada where you live, so I'm glad you found a picture you like here.

norma on January 14, 2015:

The photo's are breath taking. I just changed my start up page to the photo of the pink butterfly. Butterflies are truly amazing. Great job.

Writer Fox (author) from the wadi near the little river on December 29, 2014:

Hi Sally,

I love the photo here which was taken with the Samsung Galaxy. That's amazing quality from a cell phone!

I'll check out your article and I appreciate your comments.

Sally Gulbrandsen from Norfolk on December 28, 2014:

Came back looking for Butterfly images and I found them here, aplenty. There are some lovely specimens and some very nice photography too.

It seems we have both been bitten by the 'bug' . I love macro photography and wrote a hub about 'walking with butterflies and dragonflies'.

I came across a few Swallowtail Butterflies last season and was lucky enough to get some great images. Can't wait for Summer to find it's way back again so that I can get up real close and personal with the critters again.

Thanks for sharing these lovely creatures.

Writer Fox (author) from the wadi near the little river on September 01, 2014:

I'm sure that what you saw was a Zebra Swallowtail. The black and white variety often has red dots on its tail. (There are several pictures of Swallowtails on this page.)

The Lantanan Bush of Florida, also called a Paw Paw, is a notorious haunt for the Zebra Swallowtail and you will almost always find these butterflies around the bush.

Thank you so much for your input and taking the time to comment.

Fredrick Hinojosa on September 01, 2014:

The lantanan bush of Florida is a perfect bush for watching butterflies Ive got two large ones in my front yard and every morning I get a treat but this afternoon a black and white striped butterfly that looked as if it was flying backward an optical illusion butterfly I can't find its name it had two red eyes on it tail

Writer Fox (author) from the wadi near the little river on August 03, 2014:

Hi Jan: I'm so glad you found the right butterfly picture for your friend!

Jan on August 03, 2014:

Thank you so very much-your pics are awesome and so very much what we were looking for-making a pic for a friend. Super you and thanks again...........

Writer Fox (author) from the wadi near the little river on July 17, 2014:

Sue, just send me an email and let me know which ones you want to use.

Sue Lane Conrad on July 16, 2014:

I hope you will not mind if I use some of your beautiful butterfly photos on a FB page dedicated to finding a missing ( 10 days) 43 year old woman in the Northern Neck of Va. Law enforcement and so many of us who never have met her have searched and searched this Rappahannock River and Chesapeake Bay area. She loved butterflies.......

Writer Fox (author) from the wadi near the little river on July 04, 2014:

Hi Jerry: You are welcome to send any of these butterfly pictures to your friend in an email.

Jerry Garriott on July 03, 2014:

A close friend of mine is in love with butterfly so I borrowed a few. .I hope you don't mind. .I't will make her happy. .great pics by the way. .thanks

Writer Fox (author) from the wadi near the little river on February 14, 2014:

That is so true, Ruby Rose. He could have just made a single kind of butterfly to help with pollination. Bees mostly look alike, but not butterflies. They are true works of art, little flying paintings, and that is why we enjoy them so much.

Ruby rose on February 14, 2014:

God is an amazing artist

Writer Fox (author) from the wadi near the little river on February 08, 2014:

Me, too, Sapna!

sapna .s.padol on February 08, 2014:

I love butterflys

Writer Fox (author) from the wadi near the little river on February 01, 2014:

Hi Sujith: Thanks for visiting from India and I appreciate your comment!

sujith poombatta on February 01, 2014:

I love butterflies .......

Writer Fox (author) from the wadi near the little river on January 14, 2014:

Thank you, Ditt, for commenting.

Ditt on January 13, 2014:

great pict from great pers....

Writer Fox (author) from the wadi near the little river on December 28, 2013:

Hi Yodeling! I'm so glad you found the right butterfly picture here for your decoupage . Thanks for finding that typo and I appreciate your letting me know. Come back when you need another picture and share the link to this page with your friends.

Yodeling on December 27, 2013:

Hi!

I love butterflies. A friend of mine does Decoupage,&

I was looking to see what I could find to add to a collage

of butterflies surrounding a picture that I have of my deceased aunt,which has a Monarch hovering over a Daisy. There's a light blue in just one area between the

Daisies. Know what I mean? Shelby made me a plaque

of a blue Butterfly with black on its wings. The plaque

matches the Monarch, but I want something in white & yellow, or vice versa to bring out the center of the Daisies. I've chosen the white butterfly on a yellow Lily, & the Little Yellow Butterfly by itsself. As you've requested, these are to be used in a "personal" manner, & also will be "shared" when people sees my collection of Shelby's Decoupage. Thank you

P.S.

Under one of your pictures, you left your"r" out. It reads"buttefly".

Writer Fox (author) from the wadi near the little river on December 14, 2013:

Hello Good: I'm glad you found these butterfly pictures in Pakistan. Butterflies represent freedom of the soul.

good on December 14, 2013:

very good

Writer Fox (author) from the wadi near the little river on November 14, 2013:

I'm glad you liked them, Jainismus, and I appreciate your comment.

Mahaveer Sanglikar from Pune, India on November 14, 2013:

Great posts.......

Writer Fox (author) from the wadi near the little river on November 13, 2013:

Thank you, Eddiecarrara. Putting this collection into some semblance of order took much longer than I thought it would! Glad it's online now, though, because here other people may enjoy these photos, too. Thanks for your comment!

Eddie Carrara from New Hampshire on November 13, 2013:

Nice job on the butterfly Hub Fox, I can tell you took your time putting it all together, well done. Also congrats on your interview, you are a very interesting writer, and I look forward to reading more of your Hubs.

komal nizam on October 25, 2013:

beautifly pic

Writer Fox (author) from the wadi near the little river on September 30, 2013:

Thank you so much, Moonlake. I hope people will also view your wonderful pictures of bears.

moonlake from America on September 30, 2013:

Beautiful butterfly photos. I loved them all. Voted up.

Writer Fox (author) from the wadi near the little river on September 04, 2013:

Thank you and I'm glad you enjoyed the butterfly pictures.

Devika Primić from Dubrovnik, Croatia on September 04, 2013:

Incredible photos butterflies are so beautiful and so many species to look at, so colorful and full of life.

Writer Fox (author) from the wadi near the little river on August 12, 2013:

Hi Theresa,

I love these butterfly pictures, too!.

Theresa Ast from Atlanta, Georgia on August 11, 2013:

Such amazing pictures. A visual feast. Thanks for sharing with us. Sharing Theresa

Writer Fox (author) from the wadi near the little river on July 14, 2013:

Foxes have many friends in the animal world. If you want to use one of the butterfly photos, just send me an email!

Deonne Anderson from Florence, SC on July 14, 2013:

Wow! Your pictures of butterflies are absolutely beautiful! As you did not provide the sources for your butterflies I am wondering if you took them all your self. If so, you are an excellent photographer. I love butterflies but rarely see them. Voted up and beautiful.

Writer Fox (author) from the wadi near the little river on July 13, 2013:

Hi Jan, You surely found this quickly. Foxes have a way of sneaking up on butterflies. Glad you liked the butterfly pics!

Janis Leslie Evans from Washington, DC on July 13, 2013:

Writer Fox, wow, did you take all of these pics? What a visual ride. This was fun and I can see, a lot of work. Up and interesting.