Top 10 Popular Butterflies of Europe

Butterflies are one of the most adored insects and everyone loves watching them fluttering around the garden. It is hard to think of gardens and summer meadows without these gorgeous creatures relaxing on flowers and plants. These are intriguing creatures that develop special colors and forms according to their environment. Europe has a wide variety of butterfly species and here are the top 10 well-known butterflies of Europe:

1. Brush-footed butterfly

It is also known as the four-footed butterfly as it utilizes only four legs for walking. The brush-footed butterfly belongs to the Nymphalidae family. It is considered one of the biggest butterfly families with more than 6000 species. Its wing color is generally white, brown, and yellow.

2. Long-tailed Blue

This butterfly inhabits grazing lands and other flowery territories with high temperatures. The long-tailed blue butterfly can be found in southern Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa. It is a small species belonging to the family Lycaenidae. This butterfly has violet-blue colored wings and hair-like soft scales providing a fuzzy look.

3. Monarch

The monarch is a common butterfly having a unique color and pattern. It is considered the most beautiful of all butterflies. Monarchs are easy to identify due to their striking combinations of black, orange, and white meshed with bright orange wings and white dots. It has black borders and veins.

4. Swallowtail

Swallowtails are colorful and large with more than 500 varieties. It has a wingspan of 0.3-3.5 inches. In Europe, there are dozens of varieties of swallowtail. Its name comes from the additions in hindwings that look like a tail.

5. Peacock butterfly

This butterfly is commonly seen in Europe. The Peacock butterfly has four big peacock eyes on the upper part of the wings making them easily identifiable. The eyes act as a shield against predators.

6. Red admiral butterfly

This butterfly inhabits open landscapes and gardens as well as orchards and forest clearings. Red admiral butterflies prefer drinking from phlox, goldenrods, or butterfly bush. They are dark brown on top and red on the edges.

7. Cabbage White

It is widespread species that can be found in Europe, Australia, and North America. Cabbage white is also known as small white or white butterfly. It is pure white and looks beautiful.

8. Brimstone Butterfly

The Brimstone butterfly is known for its longest life span. It is a unique butterfly with distinctive leaf-shaped green wings and its six subspecies are present in Europe and Asia. Brimstones move to tropical climates when possible and hibernate in winters otherwise.

9. Danube Clouded Yellow

It is a big yellow-orange butterfly with visible and eye-catching black wing edges. The Danube clouded yellow inhabits the river basin of the Danube from Romania to Germany. It commonly lives in warm meadows, orchards, open woodland margins, forests, and pastures.

10. Oleander Hawk Moth

Oleander hawk moth butterfly is generally found at a light source. It feeds on tubular flowers like tobacco and honeysuckle. It inhabits open, warm places like hillsides and scrublands. The wings of this butterfly are a combination of various shades of green from dark forest green to olive green and light green.