Blue-frosted Banner

Catonephele numilia · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nymphalidae

Also called: Blue-frosted Catone, Grecian Shoemaker, Stoplight Catone

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Blue-frosted Banner
Photo: Rodrigo Paiva Lázaro, CC BY

The blue-frosted banner butterfly lives in most of Central and South America. Adults feed on rotting fruit while the caterpillars eat Alchornea plants. It usually flies low over the ground near ripe fruits and flowers and can live about a month.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

This butterfly often flies close to the ground near ripe fruits and flowers.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

It is typically found flying low near ripe fruits and flowers.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Adults feed on rotten fruit. Caterpillars feed on plants of the genus Alchornea.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

An adult lives for about a month.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

It occurs throughout most of Central and South America.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

Blue-frosted Banner photo 2
Photo: alessandradalia, CC BY-SA
Blue-frosted Banner photo 3
Photo: Carlos Domínguez-Rodríguez, CC BY
Blue-frosted Banner photo 4
Photo: alessandradalia, CC BY-SA
Blue-frosted Banner photo 5
Photo: alessandradalia, CC BY-SA

Questions people ask

What do adult blue-frosted banner butterflies eat?

Adults feed on rotten fruit.

Source: Wikipedia

How long does an adult live?

An adult can live about a month.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Nymphalidae)

MonarchMonarchDanaus plexippusRed AdmiralRed AdmiralVanessa atalantaPainted LadyPainted LadyVanessa carduiGulf FritillaryGulf FritillaryDione vanillaeSpeckled WoodSpeckled WoodPararge aegeriaEuropean Peacock ButterflyEuropean Peacock ButterflyAglais io

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catonephele_numilia

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

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This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

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