It's hard not to notice the purple Empress: a butterfly that, despite being a true master of hide-and-seek, from time to time lets itself be admired for the size and variety of the light reflections on its wings, revealing its splendor just like a Greek nymph, giving its name to the family (the Nymphalidae) to which it belongs.
But why is it so rarely seen? It is a sciaphilous species (living in the shadows)! The females spend most of their lives on the branches, coming down to the ground only to deposit their eggs. Males also spend most of their lives in the treetops, defending their territory from rivals, though they do come down from time to time to drink or feed. The Males have shiny purple shades, not due to chemical pigments, as happens in most butterflies, but to physical phenomena of diffraction and interference of light; for this reason they differ depending on the angle of incidence of light rays. Both sexes are characterized by a dark brown coloration on the lower pages, white lines and an orange ring on each hind wing. The deep yellow of the spirotromba of this species is unique. Apatura Iris inhabits the southern regions of England and much of Central and Eastern Europe. In Italy it is found in the northern regions, in the woods and in the clearings of the basal and mountain plain between 500 and 1,900 m asl, especially in areas rich in oak trees.