Diana, Speyeria diana <LEP107>

Diana, named for the Green goddess of the woods, is one of the most strikingly dimorphic butterflies. The males and females look entirely different. Here the male pursues the female on the wing. He is fiery orange beyond a large coal-black wingbase. The female has the same black middle part, but outside of it has pale bluish spots on the forewing and deep blue patches and bars on the hindwing. It is believed that the blue coloration, unique among fritillaries, evolved to help her mimic the poisonous Pipevine Swallowtail. Birds thus avoid her.