leaf butterfly


noun
  1. any of various butterflies of the genus Kallima, of southern Asia, the East Indies, and Australia, having wings that resemble dead leaves.

Origin of leaf butterfly

1
First recorded in 1880–85

Words Nearby leaf butterfly

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use leaf butterfly in a sentence

  • This is true also of the leaf butterfly and of another which exactly resembles a bird's dropping.

    The Other Side of Evolution | Alexander Patterson
  • The withered leaf butterfly, with spots and wrinkles, is exactly like the thing it imitates.

    The Other Side of Evolution | Alexander Patterson
  • Most striking of all, however, is the large dead-leaf butterfly Kallima (fig. 163) of the East Indian region.

  • It is the dead-leaf butterfly's good to tell a foe a falsehood.

    Thus Spake Zarathustra | Friedrich Nietzsche
  • For example, many animals such as the quail, the rabbit, or the leaf-butterfly are protectively colored.

    Being Well-Born | Michael F. Guyer