Ruddy Daggerwing Marpesia petreus This Southern species is found in Forida and some parts of Texas. The larval stage of this insect feeds primarily upon fig and other hardy vegetation. The orange color and long, "dagger" like hind wings, are indicaters for taxonomy of this species and give this beautiful butterfly its common name ; Ruddy Daggerwing. This butterfly was found feeding on one of Floridas primary necteries, the swamp mallow, or hibiscus in my back yard. Can you name this Butterfly? If so " congratulations", you have just identified one of 700 different species found in Florida! The Order Lepidoptera is composed of Butterflies and moths and is the second largest class of insects only beaten by Order Coleoptera; beatles. The order of the Beatles contain twice as many species as butterflies with a grand total of 280, 000 different species. Found below are some more Butterfly pictures, some taken by myself, and others found on the WWW