Dynastor darius, also known as the daring-owl butterfly, is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. The daring-owl butterfly is best known for its chrysalis's resemblance to a viper as a form of Batesian mimicry. It is native to Central and South America.
Dynastor darius is a large butterfly, with the costal edge of the forewings very curved. The upper side of the wings is dark black to brown in colour, with the forewings spotted with white in a short band from the middle of the costal edge and in isolated spots in the postdiscal area. The underside is beige with, on the forewing, a large whitish area along the costal edge from its middle to the apex.Fruhstorfer, H., 1913. In A. Seitz (editor), Macrolepidoptera of the World, vol. 5: 333–356. Stuttgart: Alfred Kernen.Smart, P., 1976 The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Butterfly World in Color. London, Salamander:Encyclopedie des papillons. Lausanne, Elsevier Sequoia (French language edition)
Subspecies There a currently seven recognized subspecies. Dynastor darius anaxarete Cramer, 1776 Dynastor darius darius Fabricius, 1775 Dynastor darius faenius Fruhstorfer, 1912 Dynastor darius icterica Stichel, 1904 Dynastor darius mardonius Fruhstorfer, 1911 Dynastor darius populus Röber, 1927 Dynastor darius stygianus Butler, 1872
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