The table below shows some of the butterflies that you can find in the island of Jamaica, West Indies. Items are continuously being added, especially from our local sites in wet limestone forest (the Cockpit Country) and dry limestone forest (the Silver Sands area of Trelawny).

I have always had trouble identifying butterflies from the various field guides and the first example below shows clearly how different a live animal is from the dead specimen illustrated on the left, which has the wings relaxed and the pattern destroyed. We have tried as far as possible to obtain live photos for this guide.

Drawing of dead specimen	Description	Photo of Live specimen
	The Jamaican Swallowtail (Papilio thoas melonius) is the smallest of the Papilio thoas subspecies. Compare dead specimen with live animal on the right!
	The Monarch (Danaus plexippus) (f) at Windsor (27/12/99)
	The Danaid Eggfly(Hypolimnasmisippus). The photo on the right is of a male at Silver Sands (22/11/99): the female is shown on the left and is strikingly different and substantially larger. There is an interesting "detective story" behind this. This is an "Old World" butterfly which was probably introduced to the Americas with the slave trade. There are several forms of female in the Old World and each mimics a locally common Monarch butterfly. But, in the New World, the female does NOT resemble the local Danaid (shown above). It in fact resembles the Old World Danaus Chrysippus and the conclusion is that it evolved in the Old World.
	Julia (Dryas iulia delila) at Windsor (8/11/99)
	The Many-Banded Daggertail (Marpesia chiron) at Windsor (24/11/99)
	Antillean Malachite (Siproeta stelenes stelenes) at Windsor (21/11/99) is a medium size brown-black butterfly with large areas of translucent green.
	Jamaican Giant Swallowtail Butterfly (Pterourus homerus -formerly called Papilio homerus) at Windsor (14/10/99). Endangered and listed on Appendix I of CITES; this endemic species, the largest swallowtail butterfly in the New World, historically ranged in at least seven parishes across the island but is presently restricted to the Cockpit Country and sections of the Blue and John Crow Mountains. In 1988 it was listed in the World's top twelve endangered species of all categories by the IUCN. Research of the population in the Blue and John Crow Mountains indicates that this species suffers high mortality due to egg parasitism when there are high levels of forest degradation in its breeding areas. The persistence of this eastern population is of major concern and the Cockpit Country may represent the only viable population of Pterourus homerus. Adults have been observed throughout the Cockpit Country, most commonly in areas of high relative humidity (H. Davis In prep.)
	Blue Swallowtail or Jamaican Kite Swallowtail (Eurytides marcellinus) at Windsor (09/05/01). This is one of our endemic butterflies and St Thomas was reported to be the only known breeding site (Jamaica Naturalist Vol 4 Dec 1994). We have now observed this butterfly at Windsor in large numbers for two consecutive years: however, the sightings last about a month and then there are no more. A strong direct flier, the Blue Swallowtail always seems to be going somewhere with a mission! We were pleased to obtained our first photos of this animal (rather battered) trapped inside the house.
	The West Indian Buckeye (Precis evarete zonalis) at Windsor1(8/11/99-left) and 12/11/00-right)
	Maerula (Anteos maerula maerula) at Silver Sands (22/11/99)
	The Tropical Fritillary(Euptoieta hegesia hegesia) at Silver Sands
	The Jamaican White Peacock (Anartia jatrophae jamaicensis) Although the species seems to prefer dry areas, both photos on the right were taken at Windsor on 8th June 2000 during a lull in the rainy season. It seems that there may be seasonal variation so please advise us if you note any substantial differences.
	The Jamaican Admiral (Adelpha abyla ) Seen at Windsor on 7th Sept 2001.
	Thersites "I would thou didst itch from head to foot and I had the scratching of thee" says Thersites to Ajax in Shakespeare's "Troilus and Cressida"
	A cloud of Greater Antillean Whites (Ascia monuste eubotia) congregate around a damp patch at Windsor on 31 July 2000
	The Tropical Silverspot (Dione (Agraulis) vanillae insularis): at Windsor, 12/11/00
	The Jamaican Blue (Hemiargus dominica). This small butterfly is easily confused with Leptotes cassius and perkinsae:- the three species frequently fly together and are indistinguishable on-the-wing.
	The Cadmus (Historis acheronta cadmus) at Windsor on 16/12/000 (left upper photo). When settled, it keeps its wings closed. Our observations showed it flying low (contrary to Brown and Heineman) and alighting on various non-biological objects: pipes, a tractor before settling on the leaf of a "swivel " orange tree. The lower photo was taken with a flash and shows the intricacy of the colour patterns.
	The Jamaican Satyr (Calisto zangis) at Windsor on 07/05/01 sitting on leaf litter where its camouflage really works. This is the only Satyr found on Jamaica and is one of our endemic species.

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