Libythea celtis

European Beak
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Superfamily:	Papilionoidea
Family:	Nymphalidae
Subfamily:	Libytheinae
Genus:	Libythea
Species:	L. celtis
Binomial name
Libythea celtis

The European Beak or Nettle-tree Butterfly (Libythea celtis) is a butterfly of the Libytheinae group of the Brush-footed butterflies family.

Description

See glossary for terms used

The upperside ground colour is rich silky brown. The fore wing has the cell filled with a broad orange-yellow streak which is subapically deeply indented above; a small discal orange-yellow spot present in interspace 1; a much larger, similarly coloured discal spot between veins 2 and 4, on the inner side touching the cell between veins 3 and 4; a subcostal white preapical spot and a quadrate double spot in interspaces 4 and 5, placed obliquely forward to the subcostal spot; this spot whitish above, orange below. Hind wing uniform, with an irregular curved, transverse, upper postdiscal orange patch extending from just below vein 3 to interspace 6, the portion in interspace 6 often detached. Underside ground-colour : fore wing brown, apex pale purplish irrorated with minute dark transverse striae and dots, orange markings as on the upperside but paler; hind wing uniform pale purplish irrorated with minute dark dots and transverse striae. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen dark brown ; beneath, palpi, thorax and abdomen concolorous with the tint of the underside of the hind wing.

Southern Europe; Asia Minor. Also in the Chitral ranges.