Bug FAQBlomfild's Beauty
Smyrna blomfildia · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nymphalidae
Blomfild's Beauty is a butterfly with a wingspan of about 75 to 90 mm (3.0 to 3.5 in). Males have red-orange wings while females are brown, and the forewings show a black tip with three white spots; the hindwing underside has wavy brown-tan markings and a few submarginal spots. It lives in tropical forests from sea level up to 1,200 m and ranges from south Texas and Mexico through Central America to Peru. Females lay eggs on host plants, and the larvae later build frass chains to rest on.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Males are red-orange, females brown, with a black apex on the forewings that bears three white spots. The underside of the hindwings displays brown and tan wavy patterns plus a few spots near the margin.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The wingspan measures roughly 75 to 90 mm (3.0 to 3.5 in).
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It inhabits tropical forests from sea level up to about 1,200 m elevation.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Females lay eggs throughout the host plant. The caterpillars construct frass chains that serve as resting spots.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its range includes south Texas and Mexico, extending through Central America to Peru.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 2 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Arizona.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
How can I identify Blomfild's Beauty?
Look for a red-orange (male) or brown (female) butterfly about 75 to 90 mm across, with a black tip on the forewings bearing three white spots and wavy brown-tan markings on the hindwing underside.
Source: Wikipedia
Where is Blomfild's Beauty found?
It lives in tropical forests from sea level up to 1,200 m, ranging from south Texas and Mexico through Central America to Peru.
Source: Wikipedia
What does the larva of Blomfild's Beauty do?
After hatching, the larvae build frass chains that they use as a resting platform.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Nymphalidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smyrna_blomfildia
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-27 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-27.