Owl Butterfly

These Owl Butterflies in the Enmax Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo, are large and quite spectacular.

"Butterflies in the genus Caligo are commonly called Owl butterflies, after their huge eyespots, which resemble owls' eyes. There are about 20 species in the genus, found in the rainforests and secondary forests of Mexico, Central and South America .... Owl butterflies are very large, 65-200 mm, and fly only a few metres at a time, so avian predators have little difficulty in following them to their settling place. However, the butterflies preferentially fly in dusk, when few avian predators are around. The Latin name may possibly refer to their active periods. Caligo means darkness."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owl_butterfly