Top 20 Most Common Insects in Krakow

Despite its common name, only male specimens of common blue butterfly (Polyommatus icarus) can accurately be described as blue; the females are predominately gray-brown, with only a dusting of blue and a scattering of orange spots. The adults live for only three weeks before dying.

Aphantopus hyperantus is a medium-sized butterfly with a wingspan of up to 3.5 - 4 cm . The wing upper and lower sides are solid brown with small, yellowish-rimmed eyespots. The newly emerged ringlet has a velvety appearance and is almost black with a white fringe to the wings. The number and size of the eyespots is variable, they may be missing on the upper wing surface. The eggs are pale yellow when first laid, but become pale brown.The caterpillars are about 2.5 cm long. They are gray or light reddish brown and have dark, reddish brown and very fine dots. Dorsally there is a dark longitudinal line, which is widened at the segment boundaries. Toward the rear, this line is more intensely colored. The head is darker and has several faint longitudinal stripes.

The silver, comma-shaped marked on the butterfly’s wings give it the common name the Comma. It is a common butterfly in southern Britain that was once on the verge of extinction in the 1930s. The butterflies are often found at the edge of forests, close to meadows with plenty of nectar-rich wildflowers.

Interestingly, individuals belonging to orange tip (Anthocharis cardamines) occupy different habitats depending on gender: the males inhabit the edges of forests, whereas the females prefer meadows. When laying eggs, females release pheromones to deter other females from laying eggs on the same flowerhead. They are picky about choosing their host plants, and females will avoid plants not fully exposed to sunlight.

The upperside of the male is more or less light lemon yellow, with the black marginal and submarginal bands more or less complete on both wings; the black middle spot of the forewing large, in centre of hindwing an orange-yellow double spot; base of wings more or less dusted with black. The underside is bright yellow, being somewhat lighter on the forewing, with small marginal and larger submarginal red-brown spots; the middle spot of the forewing black with pale centre, the hindwing bearing a double spot which is mother-of-pearl colour, encircled by a double ring of red brown; fringes above and beneath, as well as head and antenna red brown. In the female the ground colour of the upperside and the proximal area of the underside of the forewing is white, being slightly yellowish. The egg is bottle shaped, whitish, with yellowish-brown stripes. The larva is bluish green or grass green, velvety, there being on the back two rows of blackish dots which are traversed by two thin yellow longitudinal lines, above the legs a yellow or reddish longitudinal side line, head dark green; the autumnal larvae without black dorsal spots. Pupa green, with yellow lateral lines.

The upperside forewings are a bright orange with a dark outside edge border and with eight or nine black spots. The hindwings are dark with an orange border. Some females also have a row of blue spots inside the orange border and are known as form caeruleopunctata. The undersides are patterned in a similar way but are paler. The black spots on the forewings are outlined in yellow and the dark colouring is replaced by a pale brownish grey. The hindwings are the same brown/grey colour with small black dots and a narrow orange border. The caterpillars (larvae) are usually green, but some have a purple stripe down the middle of the back and along each side.

The painted lady is a migratory butterfly that spends part of the year in Northern Africa and then migrates to Europe during the warmer months. Although the adults feed on nectar from flowers, the larvae feed on the leaves of nettles and thistles.

The old World swallowtail (Papilio machaon) is commonly just called the "swallowtail," giving it the added title of "old world" to distinguish it and remind us that it comes from the "old world" (Asia, Africa, Europe). The upper side of them is a beautiful combination of pure white with black striping, the underside being a brownish version of the same thing. There is blue and two red dots on its back side.

The speckled wood (Pararge aegeria) prefers to live in damp, dark woodlands. Unlike other butterflies, it's more active in shadier habitats rather than sunny ones. Males often fight over a perch, spiraling up to the treetops until they determine a winner. These perches are where the males find passing females.

With a wingspan of 2.5 - 3 cm, it is very similar in appearance to the small skipper Thymelicus sylvestris. They can be told apart by the undersides of the tips of their antennae: the essex skipper's antennae are black, whereas those of the small skipper are orange.