Nymphalidae Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Nymphalidae

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Suborder:	Ditrysia
Superfamily:	Papilionoidea
Family:	Nymphalidae Rafinesque, 1815

A Blue Morpho, Morpho peleides

An Idea species from the Danainae group, showing its tiny front legs. They are hard to see!

The Nymphalidae (say: Nim-FAL-ih-day) is the biggest group, or family, of butterflies. There are about 6,000 different kinds, or species, of these butterflies! You can find them on every continent except for cold Antarctica. People often call them brush-footed butterflies because of their special front legs.

What Makes Them Special?
Types of Brush-Footed Butterflies
Some Examples of Nymphalidae Butterflies
Image Gallery
Images for kids
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What Makes Them Special?

These butterflies are called 'brush-footed' because their front two legs are very small. They don't have claws on them. Because of this, they only use their middle and back pairs of legs for walking. This makes them look like they only have four legs instead of six!

Many brush-footed butterflies have bright and beautiful colors. Some well-known types include the emperors, admirals, tortoiseshells, and fritillaries. When these butterflies rest, they often hold their colorful wings flat. But their underwings (the bottom side of their wings) are often dull. Some even look like dead leaves! This helps the butterfly hide from predators when it closes its wings.

Types of Brush-Footed Butterflies

The Nymphalidae family is divided into smaller groups called subfamilies. Here are some of them:

Apaturinae – These are known as Hackberry butterflies and Emperors.
Biblidinae – You can find these mostly in tropical places.
Charaxinae – These are often called Leafwings.
Danainae – This group includes the famous Milkweed butterflies.
Heliconiinae – This group has Heliconiians and Fritillaries.
Libytheinae – These are known as Snout butterflies because of their long 'snout'.
Limenitidinae – This group includes Admirals and Sisters.
Morphinae – This group includes the amazing Morpho butterflies.
Nymphalinae – This group has Buckeyes, Eggflies, Checkerspots, Crescents, Anglewings, and Ladies.
Satyrinae – These are often called Satyrs and Browns.