Butterfly Wing Scale Digital Image Gallery The clipper is one of
the most photogenic butterfly species due not only to its
beauty, but to the pose its members often strike. Clipper
butterflies have a habit of resting or feeding on flower nectar
open-winged for long periods of time. The sound and the flash of
cameras pass by these models unnoticed, and not an antennae or
wing flutters out of place. Parthenos sylvia was scientifically
described in 1775 by Pieter Cramer, a Dutch merchant of Spanish
wool with a great interest in butterflies. The common name,
clipper, is an allusion to the speciesí white wing patches that
look like the multiple billowing sails on the mighty sailing
trade ships of Cramer's day. The white patches are located on
the clipper's forewings and stand out against a background that
varies in color. The appearance of this Indo-Australian
butterfly fluctuates across its broad geographic distribution.
The wings may change in size and be blue, green, orange or
brown, but the white patches remai