Siproeta stelenes

A large butterfly whose upper wing surfaces are dark brown to nearly black, marked with big green patches and spots. The patches are see-through and range from whitish green to yellow-green. Underneath, the wings are a paler orange-brown or tan with greenish markings, and each hindwing has a short tail. Males and females look alike. One source says the form that flies in the dry season is larger than the wet-season form, and the two differ in the marks inside the orange band near the edge of the hindwing underside: smudged black marks in the dry-season form, silvery marks in the wet-season form.

• Malachite Siproeta stelenes (Linnaeus, 1758) | Butterflies and Moths of North America butterfliesandmoths.org, accessed 20 October 2026
• Malachite – Florida's Wildflowers & Butterflies ufl.edu, accessed 20 October 2026
• Malachite – Exhibits ufl.edu, accessed 20 October 2026

Sources describe a mainly tropical American range. It runs from Brazil and the Amazon region north through Central America and both coasts of Mexico, and out into the West Indies, including Cuba and the Cayman Islands. In the United States it reaches southern Florida and South Texas, and individuals sometimes wander farther north. The southern Florida populations are described as fairly recent arrivals, probably from Cuba.

• Malachite Siproeta stelenes (Linnaeus, 1758) | Butterflies and Moths of North America butterfliesandmoths.org, accessed 20 October 2026
• Siproeta stelenes biplagiata thumbnails butterfliesofamerica.com, accessed 20 October 2026
• Provide for Wildlife- The Malachite Butterfly - UF/IFAS Extension Broward County ufl.edu, accessed 20 October 2026

In Central America this butterfly lives in subtropical forests that are evergreen or that lose some of their leaves in the dry season. In Florida it turns up in fruit orchards such as mango, citrus and avocado, along forest edges, in clearings, and in overgrown plantations.

• Malachite Siproeta stelenes (Linnaeus, 1758) | Butterflies and Moths of North America butterfliesandmoths.org, accessed 20 October 2026
• Malachite – Florida's Wildflowers & Butterflies ufl.edu, accessed 20 October 2026
• Provide for Wildlife- The Malachite Butterfly - UF/IFAS Extension Broward County ufl.edu, accessed 20 October 2026

Adults feed mostly on rotting fruit. They also take bird droppings, nectar from flowers, and fluids from dead animals, and they may keep feeding for much of the day, sometimes visiting flowers high in the treetops. Males perch on shrubs in sunny openings, and some fly slow, floating patrols in search of females. At rest, groups of adults shelter together under the leaves of low shrubs. Adults are described as living a fairly long time for a butterfly.

• Malachite Siproeta stelenes (Linnaeus, 1758) | Butterflies and Moths of North America butterfliesandmoths.org, accessed 20 October 2026
• Malachite – Florida's Wildflowers & Butterflies ufl.edu, accessed 20 October 2026
• Provide for Wildlife- The Malachite Butterfly - UF/IFAS Extension Broward County ufl.edu, accessed 20 October 2026

Like other butterflies, the malachite goes through four stages: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and adult. The eggs are green and are laid one at a time on leaves. The caterpillars are black and covered in branched spines, with orange to reddish markings, and they eat the leaves and rest underneath them. The chrysalis is green.

• Malachite – Florida's Wildflowers & Butterflies ufl.edu, accessed 20 October 2026
• Malachite Siproeta stelenes (Linnaeus, 1758) | Butterflies and Moths of North America butterfliesandmoths.org, accessed 20 October 2026
• Provide for Wildlife- The Malachite Butterfly - UF/IFAS Extension Broward County ufl.edu, accessed 20 October 2026