Florida’s state butterfly finds its way to Melksham

A BUTTERFLY commonly found in Florida has appeared in a Melksham garden.

Dennis Andrews who lives at Chiltern Close spotted an unusual looking butterfly on a flower in his garden which he managed to photograph. Following some research, he discovered it was actually a Zebra Long Wing butterfly – the official butterfly for the state of Florida since 1996.

The butterfly has also been known to be found in parts of North, Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean. In North America the butterfly is found in the southern parts of the United States including Florida, Georgia, Virginia, North and South Carolina. In South and Central America, it has been recorded in Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela. Like zebras, they have a stripped pattern giving them their name. Also like zebras they each have a different stripe pattern.

Dennis Andrews said, “I was sat in my garden when I noticed an unusual butterfly with wide wings. I don’t know too much about butterflies but I decided to photograph it and later looked in books to find it’s not from around here.”  The Butterfly Conservation said, “These butterflies are not found in the UK as resident or migrant. Our guess is it is an escape from a butterfly farm or private collection. It is a really great spot though.”